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I  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY,!, 
1  Princeton,  N.  J.  f 


<»'3^^>3  3<^^3  e>^^*'B  -  ?^^e  ?.'^^a  ?<!^^9  «^^  ^  " 
|j  CV/^-e,       Civic,  on.. .^2<L;C-n--..ji|. 

I         Shelf,  sect.on    S/ZS     i' 
I        JJooA  .  ^    _ f 


(a. 


THE  ISRAEL  OF  GOD. 


Eig^  hy  AH.  HitAU.  -V  } 


.i^c^ 


THE 


ISKAEL   OF   GOD. 


STEPHEN   H.   TYNG,   D.D. 

RECTOR    OF    ST.    GEORGf;'s    CHURCH,    NEW    YORK. 


FOURTH     THOUSAND. 
ENLARGED. 


NEW   YORK: 

ROBERT    CARTER    &    BROTHERS, 

No.    285    BROADWAY. 

1849. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1849,  by 

STEPHEN    H.    TYNG, 

In  the  Clerk's  OiBee  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 


INTRODUCTION. 


It  is  nearly  ten  years  since  the  present  volume  was  first 
published  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  The  simple  purpose 
of  its  publication  then,  was  to  gratify  the  wish  of  a  large 
circle  of  personal  friends,  who  had  often  expressed  the  de- 
sire to  have  in  print,  some  of  the  discourses  which  they  had 
been  accustomed  to  hear  from  the  author  in  the  pulpit. 
Since  the  first  publication  of  this  volume,  more  than  three 
thousand  copies  of  it  have  been  sold.  And  in  bringing  out 
another  edition,  to  which  he  has  added  some  further  selec- 
tions from  his  sermons,  the  author  would  record  his  grati- 
tude to  God  who  has  thus  given  his  humble  labors  so  much 
acceptance  among  his  people, — and  his  affectionate  expres- 
sions of  thankfulness  to  the  many  Christian  friends  who 
have  so  liberally  encouraged  and  sustained  his  ministry  of 
the  Sacred  Word.  Great  indeed  is  the  privilege  of  pro- 
claiming that  glorious  and  finished  salvation,  which  the 
Gospel  offers  to  perishing  men,  as  laid  up  in  Christ  alone ; 
purchased  by  the  merit  of  his  righteousness,  and  bestowed 
by  the  exercise  of  his  power.  Never  was  there  a  time,  when 
it  was  more  necessary  to  preach  and  teach  this  great  salva- 
tion, in  the  simplicity  of  its  divine  revelation,  in  the  words 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  teacheth.  The  author  trusts  that 
this  volume  will  be  found  to  do  this  clearly  and  faithfully, 


vi  INTRODUCTION, 

The  years  and  experience  of  his  past  ministry,  and  the  whole 
course  of  his  study  and  observation  have  served  to  deepen 
his  convictions  of  the  value  and  importance  of  the  truths 
which  are  here,  as  in  his  other  works,  proclaimed.  He  can 
have  no  change  to  make  in  doctrine,  or  in  methods  of  teach- 
ing, in  the  years  of  his  ministry  to  men.  Whether  they 
be  few  or  many,  he  earnestly  desires  that  they  may  be,  by 
the  help  of  God,  all  devoted  to  the  one  great  purpose  of 
preaching  the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God, — and  spreading,  to 
the  extent  of  his  ability,  what  appear  to  him  the  only  just 
views  of  this  precious  revelation  of  grace  to  man.  In  the 
preaching  of  this  great  salvation,  he  trusts  that  a  gracious 
God  will  mercifully  continue  to  bless  his  labors,  and  give 
him  many  seals  to  his  ministry,  in  the  new  and  important 
field  of  effort  which  is  now  opened  before  him,  and  among 
the  interesting  and  valued  flock  now  gathering  under  his 
care.  At  the  feet  of  the  Glorious  Saviour,  the  author  hum- 
bly desires  to  lay  down  all  his  labors,  and  to  ascribe  all  the 
glory  forever,  to  his  wonderful  and  glorious  name. 

S.  H.  T. 

St.  George's  Church, 
January  2,  1849. 


CONTENTS. 


I. 

God's  Message  to  Israel, 

PAGE 

9 

n. 

DO.                       DO., 

25 

III. 

DO.                        DO., 

.       39 

IV. 

DO.                        DO., 

56 

V. 

The  New  Creature, 

.       71 

VI. 

DO.          DO.,        .... 

85 

VII. 

The  Lord's  Side,         .... 

.     100 

VIII. 

The  Protected  People, 

114 

IX. 

The  Rescued  Brand, 

.     131 

-  X. 

The  Sinner's  Choice, 

146 

XI. 

The  Christian's  Rock, 

.     162 

XII. 

A  Spiritual  Famine, 

179 

XIII. 

Little  Sins, 

.     198 

■    XIV. 

The  Valley  of  Decision, 

212 

XV. 

The  Christian's  Hindrances,     . 

.     225 

XVI. 

Old  Age  without  Religion, 

240 

XVII. 

DO.                 do., 

.     254 

XVIII. 

DO.                        DO., 

268 

XIX. 

DO.                        DO., 

.     283 

XX. 

The  Latter  End,     .... 

297 

XXI. 

The  True  Circumcision, 

.     308 

XXII. 

DO.                   DO., 

321 

XXIII. 

DO.                 DO.,       .... 

.     333 

XXIV. 

The  Gospel  the  only  Rock, 

345 

XXV. 

DO.                        DO.            DO., 

.     359 

XXVI. 

do.                do.         do.,  . 

373 

PKIITGSTOIT^:. 
I.        \^HSOLOGIG^L/ 


nnr# 


GOD  S   MESSAGE   TO   ISRAEL. 


Amos  iv.  12. — Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  0  Israel. 

We  commence  this  day,  the  course  of  another 
ecclesiastical  year,  with  the  season  of  Advent.  Our 
attention  is  particularly,  and  properly  called,  to  the 
consideration  of  the  coming  of  our  great  God  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  as  God  manifest  in  the  flesh. 
The  special  services  of  the  Liturgy  for  this  season, 
have  reference  to  this  great  fact ;  and  it  becomes  the 
preacher's  duty  to  lead  to  it  also.  This  view  of  pro- 
priety, leads  me  now  to  call  your  minds  to  the  solemn 
message  of  our  present  text. 

"  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  0  Israel." 
In  the  language  of  the  Scripture,  the  design  of 
Almighty  God  in  any  way  to  bless  or  to  punish  man- 
kind, is  often  represented  by  the  declaration  of  his 
coming  among  them  for  that  purpose.  The  peculiar 
connexion  which  existed  between  the  Israelites  as  a 
people,  and  God  as  their  particular  Ruler  and  King, 
may  be  referred  to,  as  rendering  this  form  of  expres- 
sion entirely  intelligible,  and  manifestly  appropriate. 

2  9 


10  GOD'S   MESSAGE    TO   ISRAEL. 

As  earthly  rulers  move  from  place  to  place  in  their 
dominions,  to  administer  justice,  and  to  fulfil  the  pur- 
poses of  government,  so  the  Almighty  Ruler,  as  the 
special  King  of  Israel,  vv^as  exhibited  to  their  view,  in 
the  various  dispensations  of  his  providence,  and  in 
the  employment  of  his  chosen  instruments  of  blessing 
or  chastisement,  as  coming  personally  among  them. 

In  his  own  existence,  God  necessarily  fills  all  space, 
and  is  at  all  times,  equally  present,  in  every  portion 
of  the  universe  which  he  hath  formed.  Yet  he  fre- 
quently speaks  of  himself,  sometimes  as  dwelling 
among  his  people,  and  then  as  departing  from  them ; 
sometimes  as  being  near  to  them,  and  a  God  at  hand, 
and  at  others  as  being  far  from  them,  and  a  God 
afar  off ;  sometimes  as  visiting  the  earth,  to  bless  it 
with  plenteousness,  or  to  punish  it  for  transgres- 
sion, and  at  others,  as  looking  down  upon  its  inhabit- 
ants, in  observation,  either  of  their  uprightness  and 
integrity,  or  of  their  depravity  and  alienation  from 
himself  All  these  forms  of  expression  arise,  from 
the  peculiar  government  which  he  exercised  over  the 
Israelites,  often  called  a  theocracy,  under  whicli,  he 
condescended  to  fill  the  office  of  their  ruler,  allowing 
them  to  choose  him  as  such,  as  he  says  to  them,  *'the 
Lord  your  God  was  your  King,"  and  they  as  a  chosen 
and  peculiar  people,  were  considered  as  the  special 
subjects  of  his  authority. 

Because  every  instrument,  either  of  good  or  evil, 
was  powerful  and  effectual  only  as  employed  by  him, 
God  is  also  often  said  to  have  personally  done,  that 
which  was  done  by  his  permission.  And  because  the 
accomplishment  of  the  good  or  evil  referred  to,  was 
an   especial   manifestation  of  his   power  and   provi- 


god's   message    to    ISRAEL.  11 

dence,  and  he  seemed  to  be  particularly  present, 
where  the  effects  of  his  influence  were  thus  exhibited, 
under  such  circumstances,  he  is  spoken  of  as  being 
nearer  to  the  subjects  of  his  authority,  than  upon 
ordinary  occasions.  When  by  the  famine,  the  pesti- 
lence, or  the  sword,  he  was  to  punish  the  transgres- 
sions of  the  ungodly,  and  the  loftiness  of  man  was  to 
be  bowed  down,  and  the  haughtiness  of  man  was  to 
be  made  low,  he  speaks  to  them  in  the  language  of 
solemn  personal  denunciation,  that  he  will  arise,  and 
shake  terribly  the  earth,  that  he  will  come  near  unto 
them,  as  a  swift  witness  against  their  guilt.  And 
when  he  would  deliver  his  people,  by  conquest  over 
their  enemies,  or  establish  them  in  prosperity,  in  the 
land  which  he  had  given  them,  he  proclaims  in  the 
sublime  expression  of  his  triumphant  purpose,  that 
he  would  ride  upon  the  heavens  for  their  help,  and  in 
his  excellency  upon  tlie  sky ;  that  he  would  move  in 
the  whirlwind,  and  in  the  storm,  and  the  clouds  should 
be  the  dust  of  his  feet.  While  he  thus  warns  his 
people  of  his  approach,  either  for  purposes  of  mercy 
or  judgment,  he  commands  them  also,  to  prepare  for 
his  reception;  to  be  ready  to  meet  him,  with  that 
reverence,  and  gratitude,  and  submission,  which  com- 
ported with  his  high  authority,  and  with  their  depend- 
ance  upon  his  power. 

In  the  particular  message  of  our  text,  there  is  a 
reference  to  the  severe  and  painful  chastisements, 
which  the  Israelites  had  already  received  from  him. 
These  afflictions  had  not  been  allowed  by  them  to 
produce  their  proper  effect,  in  bringing  to  repentance, 
those  who  had  before  transgressed  the  divine  com- 
mands.     God  threatens   them    therefore,   with  the 


12  god's    message    to    ISRAEL. 

further  execution  of  his  determinations  for  punish- 
ment, and  solemnly  admonishes  them,  to  be  prepared 
to  meet  him  at  his  coming  among  them,  for  this 
purpose. 

At  the  time  in  which  this  message  was  delivered 
by  the  prophet,  the  people  of  Israel,  to  whom  it  was 
addressed,  may  be  regarded  as  exhibiting  the  two 
distinct  characters,  of  the  Spiritual  Israel,  and  the 
Idolatrous  Israel.  A  very  large  majority  of  them 
had  gone  astray  from  God,  under  the  idolatry  which 
had  been  established  in  their  land.  But,  as  God 
had  informed  Elijah  in  a  previous  time,  there  was 
still  a  remnant  who  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal. 
There  was  a  nominal  Israel  known  to  man,  and  there 
was  a  spiritual  Israel  also  among  them,  secretly  dis- 
cerned by  God.  In  my  present  application  of  the 
message  before  us,  I  wish  to  consider  it  under  these 
two  aspects;  and  first,  as  addressed  to  the  latter 
class ;  as  the  divine  message  to  the  Spiritual  Israel, 
the  chosen,  peculiar  people  of  God. 

The  selection  of  the  Israelites  from  the  other 
nations  of  men,  to  be  the  depositary  of  God's  revela- 
tions to  the  world,  is  frequently  used  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, in  illustration  of  the  election  of  a  people  under 
the  Gospel  dispensation,  from  all  classes  of  men,  to 
become  the  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  who, 
as  believers  in  his  Gospel,  are  accepted  in  him,  as  the 
peculiar  people  of  God;  and  by  the  power  of  his 
Spirit,  are  created  anew  in  holiness  after  his  image, 
and  made  zealous  and  persevering  in  their  obedience 
to  his  laws.  This  people  are  called  in  the  Scripture, 
"  the  Israel  of  God,"  in  distinction  from  "  Israel  after 
the  flesh."     The  contrast  between  them  is  recognized 


god's   message   to   ISRAEL.  13 

in  that  one  declaration  of  St.  Paul,  "all  are  not  Israel 
that  are  of  Israel."  To  this  people,  in  all  lands,  con- 
verted and  sanctified  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  justi- 
fied in  the  righteousness  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  are  the 
promises  of  the  Gospel  made.  And  the  divine  method 
of  government  over  the  nation  of  Israel,  illustrates 
the  Lord's  system  of  spiritual  discipline  over  those 
who  are  thus  called  according  to  his  promise. 

To  this  people  before  me,  I  now  address  the  mes- 
sage of  the  text.  As  the  spiritual  Israel,  I  refer  to 
those  among  my  hearers,  who  have  come  unto  Christ, 
as  a  people  that  shall  serve  him ;  who  have  accepted 
him  as  all  their  salvation,  and  all  their  desire;  in 
whose  eternal  security  he  sees  of  the  travail  of  his 
soul,  and  is  satisfied;  and  over  whose  redemption 
through  his  blood,  he  will  rejoice  forever.  To  these 
I  speak.  To  the  Christians  of  this  congregation,  as 
the  children  of  God,  the  believing,  obedient  subjects 
of  our  divine  Emmanuel,  whose  hearts  the  Lord  the 
Spirit  hath  directed  into  the  love  of  God,  and  the 
patient  waiting  for  Christ,  I  address  myself  as  to 
God's  spiritual  Israel : — "  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God, 
0  Israel." 

I.  We  will  remark  upon  the  events  which  may  be 
referred  to  as  the  coming  of  God. 

Beside  the  minor  and  local  dispensations  of  the 
divine  providence  which  are  spoken  of  under  this 
character,  there  are  two  grand  events  in  the  history 
of  the  world,  which  are  referred  to  in  the  Scripture 
under  this  peculiar  designation.  They  are,  the  per- 
sonal advent  of  God  in  his  incarnation,  for  the  re- 
demption of  his  people,  when  the  fulness  of  the  God- 
head dwelt  bodily  among  men ;  and  the  second  per- 
B 


14  god's    message    to    ISRAEL. 

sonal  advent  of  God  the  Saviour,  to  judge  the  world 
in  righteousness,  when  every  one  of  us  must  give  an 
account  of  himself  to  God.  To  these  two  great 
events  our  reference  will  be  made,  and  the  people  of 
God  are  exhorted  to  prepare  to  meet  them. 

1 .  The  first  advent  of  God  to  put  away  sin  by  the 
sacrifice  of  himself,  in  some  of  its  aspects,  may  be 
considered  as  a  past  event.  But  in  regard  to  its  final 
object,  the  accomplishment  of  man's  salvation,  it 
must  be  considered  as  enduring  until  every  ransomed 
soul  has  been  brought  home,  converted  from  the 
world,  and  fully  devoted  unto  God.  Through  a  long 
succession  of  ages,  believers  in  the  divine  promise, 
had  looked  forward  to  this  coming  of  God,  as  the 
great  object  of  their  desire.  They  were  waiting  in 
expectation  of  the  full  consolation  of  the  people  of 
God.  They  expected  a  Redeemer,  who  should  speak 
in  righteousness,  and  be  mighty  to  save ;  who  should 
be  able  to  say,  "  Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all 
the  ends  of  the  earth,  for  I  am  God,  and  there  is 
none  else ;"  and  of  whom  they  could  reply  in  thank- 
ful welcome,  "  Lo,  this  is  our  God,  we  have  waited 
for  him,  and  he  will  save  us."  The  purpose  of  his 
first  advent,  was  not  to  condemn,  but  to  save.  It  was 
to  collect  into  one  fold,  his  sheep  who  were  scattered 
in  the  midst  of  this  sinful  world,  that  they  might  be 
saved  through  him  forever. 

This  great  purpose  of  his  coming,  he  is  effecting 
every  day.  In  each  instance  in  which  he  converts  a 
sinner  unto  himself,  and  takes  possession  of  a  mind 
thus  renewed,  he  may  be  considered  as  having  come 
anew  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  power,  to  seek 
and  to  save  that  which  was  lost.     He  has  yet  abroad 


god's    message   to    ISRAEL.  15 

in  the  world  "much  people,"  as  he  said  to  Paul  of 
guilty,  unbelieving  Corinth,  who  know  him  not,  who 
have  never  been  taught  to  call  upon  his  name,  and  who, 
perhaps,  are  now  like  that  same  chosen  vessel,  per- 
secuting him  ignorantly  in  unbelief.  Millions  of  souls 
yet  unborn,  undoubtedly  will  be  born  again  for  the 
inheritance  which  he  has  provided  for  his  children. 
Among  those  who  hear  me,  there  are  doubtless  many, 
to  whom  the  glad  tidings  of  his  salvation  will  yet  be 
made  known,  and  into  whose  hearts  the  word  shall 
yet  come  with  power,  and  with  much  assurance, 
though  they  are  now  wandering  in  all  the  follies  and 
guiltiness  of  the  world.  Under  this  view,  the  exhor- 
tation of  the  text  may  still  be  addressed  to  the  Israel 
of  God,  in  reference  to  the  first  coming  of  their  King. 
To  the  heart  yet  unchanged,  the  real  advent  of  Christ 
for  man's  salvation,  is  as  much  a  future  event,  as  it 
was  to  Abraham.  And  when  the  glad  hour  of  its 
conversion  shall  come,  God  will,  for  the  first  time, 
be  effectually  manifested  to  that  heart,  as  a  Saviour. 
He  Avill  then  become  its  salvation.  To  very  many 
souls  his  way  is  not  yet  prepared.  He  has  not  come 
to  them  because  they  are  not  ready  to  receive  him. 
He  stands  at  the  door,  and  knocks;  and  whenever 
there  is  in  them  a  willingness  to  admit  him,  and  they 
are  ready  to  open  the  door,  he  will  delay  no  longer, 
but  will  come  in  to  them,  and  will  sup  with  them,  and 
they  with  him.  Then  the  converted  soul  shall  be 
able  to  say,  "  Behold,  God  is  become  my  salvation,  I 
will  trust,  and  not  be  afraid ;"  "my  flesh  shall  rest  in 
hope,"  "  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation." 

2.  The  second  advent  of  God  the  Saviour,  which 
is  for  all  who  listen  to  me,  still  a  future  event,  will  be 


16  god's   message    to   ISRAEL. 

for  the  full  salvation  of  his  people,  for  the  universal 
judgment  of  the  w^orld,  and  for  the  final  settlement 
of  his  glorious  and  everlasting  kingdom.  Then,  he 
who  w^as  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many, 
shall  appear  w^ithout  sin  unto  salvation,  for  all  who 
have  believed  on  his  name.  All  that  the  Father  hath 
given  him,  shall  come  to  him ;  and  of  those  who  thus 
come  to  him,  he  will  lose  none,  but  will  raise  them 
up  at  the  last  day.  This  glorious  advent  of  the  Re- 
deemer as  the  universal  Judge,  is  exhibited  in  the 
Scriptures  in  the  most  sublime  and  glowing  language. 
He  is  to  come  in  the  clouds,  attended  by  innumerable 
hosts  of  angels,  with  the  instant  manifestation  of  the 
lightning.  He  is  to  be  seated  on  a  throne  of  glory, 
and  all  nations  are  to  be  gathered  before  him.  One 
grand  division  shall  separate  forever  the  immortal 
spirits  for  whom  that  day  has  been  prepared ;  and  to 
its  own  abode,  its  final  dwelling  place,  shall  every  soul 
depart. 

This  solemn  day  is  a  future  one ;  but  how  far  re- 
moved, neither  men  nor  angels  know.  It  cannot 
come  until  God's  purposes  of  grace  in  reference  to 
this  fallen  world  have  been  all  fulfilled;  until  all 
Christ's  sheep  have  heard  his  voice,  and  followed 
him;  until  those  who  are  unholy,  are  so  perversely 
and  voluntarily  unholy,  that  they  must  remain  unholy 
still.  But  though  the  actual  day  of  universal  judg- 
ment may  be  far  remote,  the  coming  of  Christ  to  call 
us  personally  to  account,  cannot  be.  This  is  near  at 
hand.  For  this  most  important  change,  his  people  are 
to  be  well  prepared.  "  Behold,  I  come  quickly,"  he 
says  to  every  one  who  has  entered  into  covenant  with 
him,  "hold  that  fast  which  thou  hast,  that  no  man  take 


god's   message    to   ISRAEL.  17 

thy  crown."  Few  will  be  the  years  before  every 
child  of  God  in  this  assembly  shall  have  been  called 
to  meet  the  God  of  his  salvation ;  to  stand  before  the 
throne  of  him  whom  his  soul  loveth,  and  to  rejoice  in 
the  eternal  possession  of  the  riches  of  his  grace,  and 
of  an  unfading  crown  of  glory.  The  day  of  reunion 
with  the  body  spiritualized  and  rendered  holy,  as  an 
eternal  companion  for  the  ransomed  spirit,  may  be  far 
postponed ;  and  long  may  our  mortal  part  sleep  under 
the  care  of  Jesus,  before  the  arrival  of  the  liour  in 
which  the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of 
man,  and  return  to  life.  But  not  so  far  postponed, 
the  hour  of  bliss  for  us.  To-morrow  we  may  be 
with  Christ.  This  night  may  finish  our  wanderings 
in  a  land  of  strangers,  and  call  us  to  our  final  home 
with  him.  How  solemn,  how  tranquil,  how  secure, 
the  joy  with  which  the  believer  may  look  forward  to 
this  hour  of  permanent  reunion  with  his  Lord ! 


Yet  a  few  years,  or  days,  perhaps, 
Or  moments  pass  in  silent  lapse. 

And  time  with  me  shall  be  no  more — 
No  more,  the  sun  these  eyes  shall  view, 
Earth  o'er  these  limbs,  her  dust  shall  strew, 

And  life's  delusive  dream  be  o'er. 


To  this  second  coming  of  Emmanuel,  our  glorious 
King,  the  exhortation  of  the  text  directs  the  watch- 
fulness of  the  people  of  God.  Much  is  to  be  done 
for  every  one  of  us,  before  we  can  feel  altogether 
willing  to  say  in  reference  to  it,  "  even  so,  come  Lord 
Jesus,  come  quickly."  And  0,  let  us  make  it  the 
subject  of  earnest  effort  and  prayer,  that  by  the  in- 
dwelling of  the  Snirit,  we  may  be  prepared  to  appear 
b2  3 


18  god's   message    to   ISRAEL. 

unto  praise,  and  honour,  and  glory,  at  the  appearing 
of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ! 

These  two  great  events  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
and  in  the  history  of  each  redeemed  soul,  which  is 
but  the  world  in  miniature,  are  known  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  are  to  be  considered  by  us,  as  the  coming 
of  our  great  God  and  Saviour.  He  first  comes,  as  a 
crucified,  atoning  Saviour,  to  the  hearts  of  his  people ; 
to  give  them  pardon  and  peace ;  to  take  from  them, 
all  hardness  of  heart,  and  contempt  of  his  word ;  to 
bestow  upon  them  the  grace,  which  is  able  to  keep 
them  from  falling;  and  to  present  them  before  the 
throne  of  his  glory,  with  exceeding  joy.  He  comes 
to  raise  them  from  the  ruins  of  the  fall,  and  to  make 
them  an  holy  temple,  an  habitation  of  God  through 
the  Spirit.  And  happy  is  he  who  has  part  in  this  first 
resurrection;  over  him,  the  second  death  shall  have 
no  power.  Having  thus  perfected  the  purpose  of  his 
first  advent,  in  the  soul  of  every  child  of  God ;  having 
brought  the  wanderer  home  to  his  fold,  and  taught 
him  to  go  in  and  out,  and  find  pasture,  he  comes  yet 
again,  to  carry  this  child  of  grace,  to  a  better  country, 
that  is,  an  heavenly.  He  comes  to  make  an  eternal 
end  of  sin  and  trial  for  his  soul,  and  to  crown  him 
with  unspeakable  bliss,  in  the  presence  of  his  God. 
He  comes  to  carry  him  in  his  arms,  to  living  pastures, 
and  to  fountains  of  the  water  of  life;  to  that  river 
of  love,  whose  streams  make  glad  the  city  of  our  God, 
the  holy  place  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  Most  High. 
To  these  two  important  days,  the  day  of  our  new 
birth  of  grace,  and  the  day  of  our  new  birth  to  glory ; 
the  day  in  which  Christ  comes  to  our  hearts,  to  make 
us  his  servants,  and  the  day  in  which  he  comes  for 


god's   message    to    ISRAEL.  19 

our  souls  to  make  us  his  saints ; — I  would  direct  the 
attention  of  the  Israel  of  God,  as  the  events  pointed 
out,  in  our  present  exhortation,  *'  Prepare  to  meet 
thy  God,  O  Israel." 

II.  This  leads  me  to  describe  the  state  of  mind, 
which  is  implied  in  this  call  for  preparation.  I  must 
ask  your  distinct  attention  to  the  required  prepara- 
tion for  each  of  the  two  advents  of  Christ,  which  we 
have  now  separately  considered.  His  people  are  to 
be  prepared  for  his  coming  to  bless  them  with  for- 
giveness of  sin,  and  with  a  spiritual  renewal  of  their 
mind ;  and  for  his  coming  to  take  them  to  himself  in 
everlasting  blessedness. 

1 .  In  regard  to  his  first  advent,  a  divine  messenger 
was  sent  to  make  ready  his  way ;  and  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  a  guilty  world,  a  voice  from  God  was  heard, 
crying,  "prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  and  make 
straight  in  the  desert,  a  highway  for  our  God."  Such 
is  the  message  to  be  still  delivered,  and  such  is  the 
work  to  be  still  perfected,  in  the  case  of  all  who  are 
led  to  receive  Jesus  as  their  Saviour,  and  to  become 
in  him,  by  a  spiritual  regeneration,  the  children  of 
God.  To  every  unconverted  soul,  he  is  waiting  to 
be  gracious.  His  arm  is  not  shortened,  that  it  cannot 
save,  nor  his  ear  heavy,  that  he  cannot  hear  ;  but  the 
sins  of  men  separate  them  from  him ;  and  they  have 
no  part  in  his  salvation,  because  they  are  not  ready 
to  receive  him,  as  their  Lord  and  their  God.  When 
you  are  humbled  under  a  deep  conviction  of  sin; 
when  you  are  made  to  feel  the  dangers  which  your 
transgressions  have  brought  upon  yourselves;  when 
you  see  that  you  have  provoked  against  you,  the  wrath 
of  an  holy  God ;  when  your  souls  can  thus  be  made 


20  god's  message  to  iskael. 

athirst  for  God,  and  long  for  the  free  and  full  salva- 
tion which  Christ  bestows ;  he  is  ready  to  enter  into 
your  hearts,  as  his  permanent  abode,  and  to  bless  you 
with  the  possession  of  a  hope  of  glory.  But  this 
work  of  preparation  must  be  finished,  before  your 
hearts  can  find  peace  with  him.  The  world  and  self 
are  to  be  forsaken  and  denied.  Your  own  rigliteous- 
ness  as  a  ground  of  hope,  is  to  be  relinquished.  A 
deep  sense  of  the  holiness  of  the  law  and  government 
of  God,  is  to  be  impressed  upon  your  minds.  And 
you  are  to  be  made  to  feel,  that  it  is  a  fearful  thing 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God,  without  that 
hope  in  Christ,  which  maketh  not  ashamed. 

In  a  multitude  of  cases,  in  which  this  work  will  be 
accomplished,  it  has  not  yet  been  done.  There  are 
many  wanderers  from  the  fold,  still  lost  in  the  moun- 
tains, thinking  not  of  the  kindness  of  the  shepherd, 
and  conscious  of  no  wish  to  return  to  him.  There 
are  many  too,  who  though  they  are  partially  awak- 
ened, are  not  yet  willing  to  yield  themselves  to  the 
will  of  God,  or  prepared  to  choose  him  as  their  final 
portion.  How  appropriate  to  all  such,  in  reference 
to  the  first  advent  of  Christ,  is  the  exhortation  of  our 
text! — "Prepare  to  meet  thy  God."  Be  ready  to 
receive  him,  as  your  shield,  and  your  exceeding  great 
reward.  Allow  yourselves  to  be  convinced  of  the 
vanity  of  the  world,  of  the  insufficiency  of  all  self- 
dependence,  of  the  necessity  of  a  living,  lasting  union 
by  faith,  with  Jesus  Christ.  He  is  ready  to  bless 
you  with  a  full  redemption  through  his  blood.  But 
he  cannot  pardon,  while  you  will  not  confess  your 
guilt.  He  cannot  raise  you  up,  while  proud  and 
I  oastful  in  your  self-reflections,  you  will  not  believe 


god's    message    to   ISRAEL.  21 

that  you  have  fallen.  He  cannot  bind  a  heart  that 
is  not  broken,  nor  heal  a  spirit  which  has  not  been 
bruised.  They  who  are  whole  need  not  a  physician, 
but  they  who  are  sick.  Long  since  might  you  have 
been  rejoicing  in  the  salvation  of  the  Gospel,  but  for 
the  obstacles,  which  you  have  voluntarily  thrown  in  a 
Saviour's  way.  And  before  the  morrow,  you  may 
be  happy  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  Saviour's  love,  if  you 
can  now  be  persuaded,  to  prepare  the  way  for  his 
coming  to  your  heart,  and  to  yield  that  heart  to  his 
control.  But  if  you  voluntarily  remain  alienated 
from  him,  and  put  far  from  you  the  grace  which  he 
so  freely  offers,  year  by  year  will  still  pass  by,  and 
find  you  yet,  a  poor  captive  of  Satan,  bound  in  chains 
of  darkness,  and  still  less  and  less  inclined,  to  come 
to  Jesus  for  the  life  you  need.  I  beseech  you,  my 
friends,  to  lay  aside  this  spirit  of  enmity,  and  to 
become  prepared  for  this  first  advent  of  the  Lord  the 
Saviour.  Seek  the  Lord  while  he  may  be  found; 
call  upon  him,  while  he  is  near ;  let  the  wicked  for- 
sake his  way,  and  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts, 
and  let  him  return  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will  have 
mercy  upon  him,  and  to  our  God,  for  he  will  abun- 
dantly pardon. 

2.  Li  regard  to  the  second  coming  of  Christ,  when 
every  eye  shall  see  him  shining  in  glory,  and  among 
all  the  kindreds  of  the  earth,  they  who  have  pierced 
him  by  their  ingratitude  and  sin,  shall  wail  because 
of  him,  the  exhortation  of  our  text  becomes  still  more 
solemn  and  important.  What  progress  in  holiness 
shall  be  too  large  a  preparation  for  that  momentous 
hour  of  the  soul's  existence  ?  What  life  of  faith  can 
be  too  elevated  ?   What  heavenliness  of  character  can 


22  god's  message  to  Israel. 

be  too  exalted  ?  What  spirituality  of  affection  can  be 
too  intense,  as  an  education  for  that  day  of  God  ?  To 
all  the  spiritual  Israel  must  this  address  be  solemnly 
applied.  There  must  be  with  you,  my  brethren,  a 
consistent,  growing  life  of  faith  and  piety ;  affections 
set  upon  things  above ;  and  a  disposition  to  find  all 
your  treasures  hid  in  Jesus  Christ. 

Your  own  souls  are  to  be  purified  in  holiness ;  to 
be  exercised  in  communion  with  God ;  and  to  acquire 
the  taste,  the  habits,  and  tlie  dialect  of  heaven.  The 
peculiar  employments  and  joys  of  an  holier  world  are 
to  be  made  the  subjects  of  your  study,  and  the  objects 
of  your  desire.  It  must  have  become  the  portion  of 
your  choice,  to  depart  hence,  and  be  with  Christ, 
before  you  will  be  prepared  to  meet  your  God,  or  be 
able  to  assure  your  hearts  before  him. 

The  souls  of  others  are  to  be  saved.  The  holy 
kingdom  of  the  Lord  Jesus  is  to  be  established  in 
the  world;  and  the  various  means  which  he  has 
placed  in  your  hands,  to  build  up  this  kingdom,  are 
to  be  employed  by  you,  with  ardour,  and  thankful- 
ness, and  success.  But  alas,  how  little  of  your 
portion  of  this  work  has  been  accomplished  !  What 
darkness  and  misery  prevail  over  large  regions  of 
the  earth,  while  perhaps,  to  very  few,  have  you  ever 
given  the  cup  of  living  water,  for  Christ's  sake ! 
What  precious  souls  have  you  assisted  to  save  ?  Are 
there  any  in  heaven,  are  there  any  on  the  earth,  who 
can  praise  God,  that  they  have  lived  in  the  same  age, 
or  in  the  same  world,  with  you?  O,  you  have  yet 
much,  very  much  to  do.  And  every  grain  which  you 
can  take  from  the  vast  heap  of  human  wretchedness, 
IS  so  much  done  towards  breaking  down  the  power 


GOD  S    MESSAGE   TO   ISRAEL.  23 

of  Satan,  and  establishing  the  dominion  of  the  Lord 
Jcsus  among  men. 

Personal  holiness  and  active  beneficence  constitute 
the  whole  amount  of  pure  and  undefiled  religion,  as 
exemplified  in  the  character  which  is  required  of  the 
people  of  God.  And  though  no  worth  can  appertain 
to  either,  as  proceeding  from  an  imperfect  and  sinful 
being,  yet  undoubtedly,  the  higher  are  our  attainments 
in  both,  the  more  full  of  peace  and  comfort  will  our 
souls  be,  at  the  coming  of  our  God.  Our  triumph  in 
that  hour,  will  not  rest  indeed  upon  personal  excel- 
lence, but  upon  the  unsearchable  riclies  of  Christ. 
We  shall  look  far  higher,  than  to  ourselves;  and 
much  farther  back,  than  to  our  own  lives,  for  our 
objects  of  praise.  We  shall  ascribe  all  the  glory,  to 
that  God  who  hath  from  the  beginning,  chosen  us 
unto  salvation,  through  the  sanctification  of  the  Spirit, 
and  a  belief  of  the  truth.  But  we  shall  remember 
our  work  of  faith,  and  labour  of  love,  and  patience 
of  hope  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  sight  of 
God  and  our  Father,  as  testifying  to  our  hearts,  our 
election  of  God. 

In  all  the  duties  of  an  holy,  active  life,  the  spiritual 
Israel  are  to  be  prepared  to  meet  their  God.  Beloved 
brethren,  be  ye  steadfast,  unmoveable,  always  abound- 
ing in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  ye  know, 
that  your  labour  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord.  You  have 
a  great  work  to  do,  and  but  little  time  in  which  to  do  it. 
Many  souls  around  you,  are  yet  unconverted.  Many 
are  growing  cold  and  careless.  Many  are  but  slowly 
progressing  in  grace.  And  for  all,  much  sin  is  to  be 
subdued,  and  much  likeness  to  God  attained,  before 
they  shall  become  meet  to  be  partakers  of  the  inherit- 


24  god's  message  to  Israel. 

ance  of  the  saints  in  light.  All  this  is  to  be  done 
quickly.  God's  appointed  hours  are  rapidly  approach- 
ing, and  his  plans  of  providence  are  fast  developing. 
The  Judge  standeth  at  the  door.  O,  when  he  comes, 
shall  he  find  faith  on  the  earth  ?  Shall  he  find  you 
waiting  for  his  approach  ?  Shall  you  be  clothed  in 
his  righteousness,  and  presented  without  spot  before 
him  ?  Be  ye  sure  of  this.  See  to  it,  that  your  souls 
are  safe  in  Jesus  Christ.  Be  anxious  and  watchful 
for  this  great  concern.  And  when  the  door  is  shut, 
irrevocably  shut,  be  certain,  that  it  shall  be  closed 
for  your  security,  in  an  abode  of  eternal  peace  and 
triumph. 


II. 


god's   message    to   ISRAEL. 


Amos  iv.  12. — Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  0  Israel. 

In  presenting  this  message  from  Almighty  God  to 
his  people,  as  a  subject  for  your  consideration,  I  pro- 
posed to  speak  of  it,  first,  as  a  message  to  God's 
spiritual  Israel,  and  secondly,  as  addressed  to  the 
idolatrous  Israel.  In  one  discourse  upon  this  first 
division,  I  have  spoken  of  the  events  which  are  to  be 
referred  to,  as  the  coming  of  our  God ;  and  of  the 
state  of  mind,  which  is  required,  as  a  preparation  for 
these  events. 

III.  The  third  topic  for  remark  in  this  view  of  the 
text,  will  be  the  character  under  which  God  will  come 
to  his  spiritual  Israel.  He  is  theirs,  and  he  is  their 
God.  "  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  0  Israel." 
Whether  our  reference  be  made  to  the  first,  or  to  the 
second  advent  of  our  God,  the  message  of  the  text 
may  be  welcomed  with  joy  by  all  his  people.  If  he 
comes  to  them  in  their  unconverted  state,  to  deliver 
them  from  the  bondage  of  their  sins,  to  ransom  them 
from  the  power  of  eternal  death,  and  to  make  them 
C  4  25 


26  god's  message  to  Israel. 

free  with  the  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God ;  or,  if  he 
comes  to  them,  when  their  earthly  probation  has 
been  finished,  to  bring  them  unto  Zion,  with  songs 
and  everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads ;  he  comes  to 
them  in  each  cas.:j,  as  their  God ;  as  a  Saviour  who 
is  welcome  to  their  hearts,  and  whose  love  to  them, 
is  an  everlasting  love.  To  this  attractive  and  pre- 
cious character  of  an  approaching  Redeemer,  I  desire 
now  to  direct  your  notice,  while  I  ask  you  to  consider 
the  relation  whicli  he  sustains  to  his  people,  and  the 
mutual  property  which  they  have  in  each  other. 

He  comes  to  them,  not  as  an  enemy  whom  they 
fear,  but  as  a  friend  in  whom  they  delight ;  not  as  a 
Ruler,  whose  power  only  makes  him  the  more  ter- 
rible, but  as  a  protector,  in  whose  ability  to  save  unto 
the  uttermost,  they  can  altogether  confide.  There  is 
a  charm  given  by  the  personal  possession  of  a  trea- 
sure, which  can  never  belong  to  that  which  is  not  our 
own.  However  valuable  an  object  may  be  in  itself, 
it  cannot  fail  to  become  in  our  estimation,  far  more 
so,  if  we  are  permitted  to  appropriate  it  to  ourselves. 
Now  the  glorious  Emmanuel,  is  in  himself,  an  inex- 
haustible treasure.  All  riches  of  wisdom,  and  power, 
and  love  are  laid  up  in  him.  But  he  becomes  to  our 
view,  still  more  precious,  as  his  Spirit  enables  us  to 
make  him  our  own.  When  we  have  been  taught  to 
say  in  the  assurance  of  a  vital  lasting  union  with 
him,  "  my  beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am  his,"  we  have 
learned  a  full  answer  to  the  inquiries  of  the  world, 
"  what  is  thy  beloved,  more  than  another  beloved  ?" 
To  those  who  believe,  he  is  precious;  and  though 
now  they  see  him  not,  yet  believing  in  him,  they  re- 
joice with  joy  unspeakable,  and  full  of  glory.     They 


god's    message    to    ISRAEL.  21 

experience  from  day  to  day,  his  reviving,  transform- 
ing power.  And  in  the  enjoyment  of  peace  with  him, 
and  with  all  the  charms  of  property  and  personal  in- 
terest, they  can  say  of  him,  "  this  God  is  our  God 
for  ever  and  ever ;  he  will  be  our  guide  even  unto 
death." 

1.  Beloved  Christian  friends,  God  the  Saviour  is 
ours,  by  his  own  election  of  us  to  be  his  people.  Be- 
fore we  were  brought  into  being,  we  were  his.  When 
we  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  he  loved  us,  ac- 
cording to  the  riches  of  his  mercy.  When  we  knew 
him  not,  perhaps  had  never  thought  of  him,  he  called 
us  to  receive  the  fulness  of  his  grace.  This  is  the 
great  reason  for  our  gratitude  and  praise  to  him,  that 
he  waited  for  no  merit  in  us ;  but  from  the  overflow- 
ing of  his  own  compassion  towards  us,  he  had  mercy 
because  he  would  have  mercy.  How  often  does  the 
Apostle  Paul  make  this  the  subject  of  thanksgiving 
unto  God,  in  behalf  of  the  believers  in  the  Lord  Jesus, 
to  whom  he  wrote !  To  the  Ephesians  he  says, 
"  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings 
in  heavenly  places  in  Christ ;  according  as  he  hath 
chosen  us  in  him,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
that  we  should  be  holy  and  without  blame  before  him 
in  love."  To  the  Thessalonians  he  says,  "  We  give 
thanks  to  God  always  for  you  all,  making  mention  of 
you  in  our  prayers ;  remembering  without  ceasing, 
your  work  of  faith,  and  labour  of  love,  and  patience 
of  hope  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  sight  of  God, 
and  our  Father;  knowing,  brethren  beloved,  your 
election  of  God."  This  is  the  fundamental  ground 
of  the  property  which  God  has  in  his  people,  and 


28  god's  message  to  Israel. 

which  they  have  in  him.  By  his  own  imhounded 
love,  he  has  thus  become  our  God ;  and  we  feel  con- 
strained to  give  hvJA  all  the  glory,  for  that  grace  which 
has  saved  us  from  everlasting  ruin,  and  given  unto 
us,  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises  in  Jesus 
Christ,  without  any  reference  to  merit,  or  worthiness 
in  ourselves. 

2.  God  the  Saviour  is  ours,  by  a  voluntary  dona- 
tion of  himself  for  us.  When  we  were  without 
strength,  or  hope,  in  due  time,  Christ  died  for  the 
ungodly.  Sin  against  God  had  placed  the  whole 
race  of  man  under  a  curse.  The  wrath  of  God  was 
revealed  against  all  ungodliness  and  unrighteousness 
of  men.  Without  the  shedding  of  blood  there  was 
no  remission.  Either  the  sinner  or  a  substitute  must 
die,  to  preserve  the  majesty  of  God  unstained,  and 
to  reconcile  the  justice  of  God  to  the  pardon  of  the 
guilty.  To  make  the  necessary  atonement  for  sin, 
and  to  accomplish  the  perfect  righteousness  which 
man  required,  God  became  man,  and  opened  in  him- 
self, a  fountain  for  sin  and  for  uncleanness.  Burnt 
offerings  and  sacrifice  for  sins,  could  offer  no  hope  to 
a  fallen  soul.  Then,  said  God  the  Son,  "  Lo,  I  come, 
to  do  thy  will,  O  God."  From  this  voluntary,  cheer- 
ful submission  of  himself  to  be  the  sinner's  propitia- 
tion, as  early  as  the  existence  of  human  want,  he  is 
called,  "  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  tl^ 
world."  By  this  donation  of  himself,  he  purchased 
for  himself  a  peculiar  people,  who  shall  glorify  him 
on  the  earth,  and  become  partakers  of  his  glory  in 
heaven.  They  were  the  subjects  of  the  promise  to 
him,  in  the  great  covenant  of  redemption,  which  is 
the  whole  foundation  of  human  hope.     In  them  he 


god's    message    to   ISRAEL.  29 

was  to  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  be  satisfied. 
By  their  knowledge  of  himself,  he  was  to  justify  them, 
when  he  should  bear  their  iniquities,  and  make  his 
life  an  offering  for  sin.  He  has  thus  purchased  them, 
with  an  inestimable  price,  and  they  are  his  people,  and 
he  is  their  God. 

3.  God  the  Saviour  becomes  ours,  by  our  volun- 
tary  acceptance  of  his  mercy.  The  rich  and  glorious 
privileges  of  his  Gospel  are  freely  offered  to  the 
enjoyment  of  all  who  hear  the  message  which  pre- 
sents them.  The  terms  of  the  divine  invitations  are 
unlimited,  and  whosoever  will,  is  invited  by  the  Sa- 
viour, to  be  partaker  of  his  grace.  But  vast  numbers 
despise  the  riches  of  his  long  suffering,  trample  under 
their  feet  God's  dear  Son,  and  count  the  blood  of  his 
covenant  an  unholy  and  worthless  thing.  There  are 
thousands  who  speak  evil  of  the  way  of  truth ;  who 
hate  the  pure  and  perfect  commands  of  God ;  and  who 
live  without  a  desire  for  conversion,  under  the  domi- 
nion of  tliat  carnal  mind,  which  is  enmity  against  God, 
and  is  not,  and  will  not  be,  subject  to  his  will.  But 
while  this  is  the  character  of  many,  there  are  cer- 
tainly many  also,  who  have  received  Jesus  in  their 
hearts,  as  their  hope  of  glory ;  and  have  rejoiced  in 
the  acceptance  of  the  loving  kindness  which  he  has 
offered  them.  They  have  felt  their  deep  necessity 
for  such  a  Saviour.  They  have  been  convinced  of 
the  wretchedness  of  their  natural  condition  without 
him.  They  have  found  themselves  to  be  without 
hope,  because  they  were  without  God  in  the  world. 
They  have  been  wearied  with  the  hard  service  in 
which  they  have  been  held ;  and  have  sought  for  re- 
demption and  peace  in  the  blood  of  Jesus,  even  the 
c  2 


so  god's    message    to    ISRAEL 

forgiveness  of  sins.  They  have  thus  gratefully  re- 
ceived the  offer  of  salvation,  which  God  has  been 
pleased  to  make  to  them,  and  to  cast  themselves 
humbly,  and  wdiolly,  upon  him.  By  this  acceptance 
of  the  riches  of  his  mercy  vs^hich  are  in  Christ  Jesus, 
God  becomes  their  Saviour  and  their  covenant  God. 

4.  God  the  Saviour  becomes  ours,  by  the  personal 
consecration  of  ourselves  to  his  service.  If  we  are 
his  people,  we  have  come  out  from  this  evil  world, 
and  separated  ourselves  from  its  vanities  and  sins. 
We  have  named  ourselves  by  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  have  bound  ourselves  in  a  covenant 
with  him,  to  be  his  forever,  and  to  depart  from  all 
iniquity.  We  are  not  our  own,  and  we  have  not 
the  right  to  live  unto  ourselves.  He  has  sealed  us 
with  his  Holy  Spirit  unto  the  day  of  redemption ;  and 
we  have  promised  to  live  in  the  remembrance,  that 
our  time,  and  talents,  and  opportunities  and  power  to 
do  good,  are  all  the  Lord's.  We  are  to  feel  it  as  our 
highest  privilege,  that  he  is  willing  to  accept  our  im- 
perfect services,  and  to  look  down  with  compassion 
upon  such  sinful  and  unworthy  creatures.  There  has 
been  a  solemn  agreement  registered  in  heaven,  be- 
tween every  Christian  before  me,  and  the  Master 
whom  they  are  all  bound  to  serve;  an  agreement 
voluntarily  entered  into  by  themselves ;  that  they  will 
have  no  other  God  but  him,  that  every  idol  which  their 
vain  hearts  may  have  set  up  for  their  homage,  shall 
be  relinquished  and  cast  away,  and  that  their  whole 
affections  shall  be  consecrated  unto  him,  and  to  his 
glory,  forever.  This  devotion  of  ourselves  to  God, 
is  recognised  in  all  our  approaches  to  his  throne  of 
grace,  whether  in  public  or  in  private.     We  come 


god's    message    to    ISRAEL.  31 

unto  him  as  our  covenant  God,  to  whom  wc  have 
made  the  voluntary  donation  of  ourselves,  to  be  a  living 
sacrifice  unto  hin),  and  whose  promises  mercifully 
established  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  v^^e  have  the 
right  therefore  to  plead  before  him.  We  have  thus 
avouched  the  Lord  to  be  our  God;  and  we  become 
witnesses  against  ourselves,  if  we  forsake  his  service, 
and  yield  our  affections  to  the  enemies  of  his  will. 

This  is  the  fourfold  ground  of  that  reciprocal  pro- 
perty which  subsists  between  God  and  his  people. 
He  is  theirs  by  the  free  donation  of  himself  to  be  a 
Saviour  and  a  sacrifice  for  their  souls.  They  are  his 
by  his  own  merciful  election  of  them  before  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world ;  by  their  thankful  acceptance  of 
his  mercy  when  it  was  offered  them  in  the  Gospel; 
and  by  their  solemn  devotion  of  themselves  to  his 
holy  service.  By  his  Holy  Spirit,  they  are  united  in 
faith  unto  Christ.  And  being  thus  made  the  mem- 
bers of  his  body,  where  he  is,  there  must  they  be  also. 
This  is  the  divine  promise  to  them,  "  they  shall  call 
upon  my  name,  and  I  will  hear  them ;  I  will  say,  it  is 
my  people,  and  they  shall  say,  the  Lord  is  my  God." 
How  glorious  is  the  privilege  of  this  union !  The 
high  and  lofty  One,  even  the  God  who  ruleth  in  the 
heavens,  is  ours.  We  may  faint  and  be  weary ;  we 
may  be  cast  down  and  despondent.  But  God  still 
says  to  us  in  our  lowest  depressions,  "  fear  not,  thou 
worm  Jacob,  and  ye  men  of  Israel ;  I  will  help  thee, 
saith  the  Lord  thy  R.edeemer,  the  holy  One  of  Israel. 
Can  a  woman  forget  her  sucking  child,  that  she  should 
not  have  compassion  upon  the  son  of  her  womb? 
Yea,  they  may  forget,  yet  Vv^ill  not  I  forget  thee." 

Under  this  character,  does  God  come  to  his  spiritual 


$2  god's   message   to   ISRAEL. 

Israel,  whether  for  th&ir  conversion,  or  for  their  final 
triumph.  He  is  theirs,  and  they  are  his.  What  force 
does  this  consideration  add  to  the  address  of  our  text, 
"Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  0  Israel."  "What  an 
assemblage  of  motives  to  holiness,  does  the  Gospel 
present!"  said  the  spiritually-minded  Payson,  "I  am 
a  Christian.  What  then?  I  am  a  redeemed  sinner,  a 
pardoned  rebel ;  all  through  grace,  and  by  the  most 
wonderful  means  which  infinite  wisdom  could  devise. 
I  am  a  Christian.  What  then  ?  Why  I  am  a  temple 
of  God,  and  surely  I  ought  to  be  pure  and  holy.  I 
am  a  Christian.  What  then  ?  Why  I  am  a  child  of 
God,  and  I  ought  to  be  filled  with  filial  reverence, 
love,  joy,  and  gratitude.  I  am  a  Christian.  What 
then  ?  Why  I  am  a  disciple  of  Christ,  and  must  imi- 
tate him  who  was  meek  and  lowly  in  heart,  and 
pleased  not  himself.  I  am  a  Christian.  What  then  ? 
Why  I  am  an  heir  of  heaven,  and  hastening  on  to  the 
abodes  of  the  blessed,  to  join  the  full  choir  of  the 
glorified  ones,  in  singing  the  song  of  Moses  and  the 
Lamb;  and  surely  I  ought  to  learn  that  song  on 
earth." 

But  while  we  are  remarking  upon  the  character 
under  which  God  will  come  to  his  spiritual  people, 
we  must  consider  him,  not  only  as  theirs,  but  as  their 
GoD.  "Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  0  Israel."  In 
the  governments  of  this  world,  the  more  elevated  is 
the  station  of  a  ruler,  the  more  grand  and  extensive 
will  be  the  preparations  to  receive  him  among  his 
subjects.  In  the  intimacies  of  domestic  life,  the 
dearer  is  the  character  of  a  friend,  the  greater  joy 
will  the  anticipation  of  his  arrival  produce.  The 
message  of  the  text  may  well  lead  the  children  of  Sion 


god's   message   to   ISRAEL.  33 

to  be  joyful  in  their  King,  both  from  the  glorious 
character  of  the  Being  whose  coming  it  proclaims, 
and  from  the  intimate  relation  wliich  he  sustains  to 
his  people.  "  Behold,  the  bridegroom  cometh,  go  ye 
out  to  meet  him."  "  This  is  our  God,  and  he  will 
save  us."  He  is  the  strength  of  our  heart,  and  our 
portion  forever.  It  was  he  who  formed  us  for  him- 
self, and  called  us  into  being,  that  we  might  glorify  his 
name ;  who  made  us  in  his  own  image,  that  we  might 
show  forth  his  praise,  and  be  able  to  enjoy  him  for- 
ever. It  was  he  who  sustained  and  protected  us  in 
the  early  dangers  of  infancy  and  youth ;  who  has 
watched  over  us  in  every  period  of  our  lives;  and 
whose  goodness  and  mercy  have  followed  us  all  our 
days.  It  is  he  who  hath  redeemed  us,  and  purchased 
us  by  his  own  blood ;  who  hath  been  made  sin  for  us, 
when  he  knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the 
righteousness  of  God  in  him ;  who  hath  called  us  to 
a  knowledge  and  enjoyment  of  his  grace,  and  by  his 
Spirit  hath  rendered  us  meet  to  be  partakers  of  the 
inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light.  He  is  our  sacrifice, 
who  hath  borne  for  us  the  curse  of  the  law ;  our  High 
Priest,  who  hath  entered  into  the  heavens  for  us ;  our 
Advocate,  who  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for 
us ;  the  Captain  of  our  salvation,  who  was  made  per- 
fect through  sufferings  for  our  sake;  the  glorious 
King  of  saints,  under  whom  are  placed  in  subjection, 
tlie  powers  of  the  world  to  come,  for  our  everlasting 
benefit. 

This  is  the  God  for  whom  the  Israel  of  promise  are 
to  be  prepared ;  the  Maker,  Redeemer,  Husband,  un- 
changeable friend,!^  and  everlasting  portion  of  his 
people.     He  is  our  God,  and  we  are  bound  to  receive 

5 


34  god's  message  to  Israel. 

and  reverence  him;  our  God,  and  we  may  surely 
confide  in  him;  our  God,  and  he  cannot  be  over- 
powered ;  our  God,  and  he  will  not  forsake  us.  Tell 
ye  the  daughter  of  Sion,  thy  King  cometh  unto  thee, 
having  salvation.  Proclaim  unto  all  his  waiting 
people,  that  he  is  at  hand,  with  an  everlasting  recom- 
pense ;  and  let  them  all  be  ready  to  receive  him,  as 
the  messenger  of  salvation,  and  the  Prince  of  Peace. 

IV.  Having  viewed  the  relation  which  God  sus- 
tains to  his  people,  and  the  character,  under  which  he 
comes  to  them,  let  us  now  consider  what  will  be  the 
results  of  his  coming  to  them. 

1.  His  first  advent  is  to  their  hearts,  with  the  de- 
monstration of  the  Spirit,  and  with  divine  power,  and 
its  result  is,  that  they  are  born  again,  and  made  new 
creatures  in  Christ  Jesus.  The  natural  condition  of 
all  men,  in  regard  to  God,  is  the  same.  "Without  any 
difference,  all  have  sinned,  and  come  short  of  the 
glory  of  God.  Every  mouth  is  stopped  before  him, 
which  attempts  to  plead  an  excuse  for  guilt.  By 
nature,  the  children  of  God  were  the  children  of 
wrath,  even  as  others.  There  is  not  a  saint  in 
heaven,  nor  a  new  born  soul  upon  the  earth,  but  was 
born,  and  while  in  an  unconverted  state  remained,  a 
vessel  of  wrath,  fitted  to  destruction.  But  to  as 
many  as  received  him,  to  them  gave  he  power,  to  be- 
come the  sons  of  God,  even  to  as  many  as  believe  on 
his  name.  The  hour  in  which  they  received  Jesus 
Christ  as  their  Lord,  was  the  hour  of  their  new 
birth ;  and  in  that  hour  did  salvation  come  to  their 
souls.  The  deep  convictions  of  sin  which  they  had 
before  felt ;  the  earnest  desired  which  had  been 
awakened  in  their  hearts,  that  some  one  would  lead 


god's   message    to    ISRAEL.  31^ 

them  into  a  way  of  peace ;  the  solemn  determinations 
which  they  made  that  they  would  cast  away  the  sin^ 
which  did  so  easily  beset  them,  and  count  every  thing 
but  loss,  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Jesus 
Christ  the  Lord,  were  the  preparations  by  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  was  leading  them,  to  accept  the  rich 
mercies  of  Jesus,  and  to  yield  themselves  as  a  willing 
offering  unto  him.  And  when  the  moment  came,  that 
they  were  ready  to  do  this,  to  become  the  temples  of  the 
living  God,  and  to  choose  Jesus  as  their  Saviour,  and 
their  eternal  portion,  then  he  entered  into  their  hearts, 
to  dwell  there  by  faith ;  and  they  were  converted  by 
his  grace,  reconciled  unto  God,  and  made  the  children 
of  God,  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  Then  they  expe- 
rienced the  power  of  the  Gospel.  They  tasted  that 
the  Lord  was  gracious.  They  enjoyed  the  testimo- 
nies of  his  love.  They  found  peace  in  believing. 
They  received  the  spirit  of  adoption  in  their  hearts, 
teaching  them  to  cry  unto  God,  Abba,  Father.  This 
was  the  day  on  which  they  began  to  live,  so  far  as 
concerned  the  great  purpose  for  which  they  were 
formed.  And  God  rejoiced  over  the  workmanship 
of  his  own  hands ;  souls  which  he  had  created  anew, 
after  his  own  image,  unto  good  works,  to  the  honour 
of  his  name. 

This  acceptance  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the 
great  offices  which  he  exercises  for  men,  is  the  cha- 
racteristic distinction  of  the  people  of  God;  the  grand 
discriminating  mark  of  converted  souls.  They  have 
now  put  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  wisdom, 
righteousness,  sanctification,  and  redemption  which 
they  need ;  while  all  others  arc  just  where  they  were 
by  nature,  without  Christ,   far  off  from  God,  and 


S6  god's    message    to   ISRAEL. 

strangers  to  the  constraining  power  of  his  grace  and 
love.  But  why  are  there  so  many,  to  whose  hearts 
the  Saviour  is  yet  a  stranger  ?  Why  do  men  drive 
him  from  their  bosoms,  and  reject  all  his  designs  of 
mercy  ?  What  is  there  repugnant  or  terrible  in  the 
spiritual  advent  of  a  Saviour  like  this?  He  desires 
to  come  to  the  heart  of  every  one  before  me,  that 
there  may  be  no  longer  a  stranger  or  foreigner 
among  you,  but  that  ye  all  may  be  fellow-citizens 
with  the  saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God.  He 
would  come  to  you  as  the  minister  of  everlasting  sal- 
vation ;  to  make  you,  to  heaven,  and  earth,  and  hell, 
the  glorious  monuments,  of  what  such  a  Saviour  can 
do  for  sinners.  He  commands  you  to  do  no  great 
thing.  He  calls  for  no  treasures  of  gold  or  frankin- 
cense, or  myrrh.  He  asks  only  for  yourselves  to  be 
laid  at  his  feet,  with  all  your  unworthiness  and  sins, 
and  he  will  speak  the  words,  by  which  you  shall  be 
saved.  0,  how  affecting  is  the  consideration,  that  it 
is  the  sinner's  will  alone,  which  separates  him  from 
a  pardoning  Saviour !  How  solemn  is  the  thought, 
that  while  there  are  here  present,  perhaps,  those  who 
will  lie  down  in  hell  forever ;  there  is  not  one,  but 
might  find  eternal  peace  in  God's  dear  Son,  if  he 
would  but  submit  to  his  holy  and  merciful  dominion. 
This  day,  nay,  this  hour,  may  every  sinner  before  me 
find  salvation,  if  he  will  but  resist  the  power  of  Satan, 
and  yield  himself  as  a  willing  servant  unto  Christ. 
0,  my  friends,  throw  away  your  self-dependence,  and 
prepare  to  meet  your  God.  That  will  be  for  you  a 
day  of  joy,  on  which  you  find  spiritual  peace  in  Jesus 
Christ.  It  will  be  a  day  of  security,  a  day  of  triumph. 
You  will  find  yourselves  in  the  hands  of  a  Saviour, 


god's   message    to   ISRAEL.  S^ 

whose  love  cannot  fail,  and  under  ^vhosc  feet  every 
enemy  must  be  placed  in  entire  and  final  subjection. 
In  sickness  and  suffering ;  in  the  hour  of  death,  and 
in  the  day  of  judgment,  you  will  look  back  upon  this 
birthday  of  your  souls,  as  the  great  point  of  remem- 
brance in  your  lives.  You  will  sing  the  praises  of 
Almighty  God  forever,  that  you  were  led  thus  to  re- 
ceive the  mark  of  the  Lamb,  and  to  follow  him  with 
tliankful  confidence,  whithersoever  he  should  lead  you. 
2.  If  this  radical  conversion  of  heart  be  the  result 
of  the  first  coming  of  God  our  Saviour,  we  are  then 
redeemed  from  captivity,  and  there  will  be  nothing 
disheartening  or  terrible  in  his  second  coming  to 
finish  his  purposes  of  love  for  us.  When  a  recon- 
ciled Father  calls  us  home ;  and  a  beloved  Saviour 
says  to  us,  "  make  haste,  and  come,  for  this  day  I 
must  abide  at  thy  house ;"  there  should  be  no  feeling 
within  us,  but  unmingled  joy.  The  thankfulness  with 
which  prophets  and  righteous  men  looked  forward  to 
the  first  coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus  upon  the  earth, 
his  people  may  now  feel,  in  expecting  him,  the  second 
time  without  sin  unto  salvation.  The  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death  may  be  dark  without  the  presence 
of  a  Saviour;  but  for  those  who  follow  him,  the  Lord 
is  an  everlasting  light,  and  their  God  their  glory. 
Let  every  true  Christian  remember  that  the  same 
Lord,  who  loved  them,  and  gave  himself  for  them, 
will  uphold  and  bless  them  there.  The  gates  of  hell 
shall  not  prevail  against  them.  God  shall  make  them 
conquerors,  and  more  than  conquerors,  through  him 
that  loved  them.  They  may  think  of  him,  and  trust 
in  him,  as  one  for  whom  they  have  waited,  and  be- 
lieving in  whom,  they  have  eternal  life.  For  them  he 
D 


38  god's  message  to  Israel. 

comes,  that  he  may  make  up  his  jewels ;  that  he  may- 
write  up  the  number  of  his  people,  and  give  them  the 
rest  they  need,  and  the  inheritance  which  he  has 
provided  for  them.  It  will  be  a  day  of  glory,  and 
triumph,  and  songs  of  praise,  when  Jesus,  and  the 
whole  church  of  the  first  born  whose  names  are 
written  in  heaven,  shall  meet  to  be  separated  no  more 
forever.  Every  redeemed  soul  shall  be  there.  Not 
one  poor,  trembling  saint  shall  be  lost.  Of  all  whom 
the  Father  hath  given  him,  Jesus  shall  lose  none. 
Saints  of  all  ages,  believers  of  every  land,  shall  be 
seen  collected.  And  while  all  ascribe  the  praise  and 
honour  of  their  salvation  to  the  Lamb,  he  shall  be 
glorified  in  his  saints,  and  admired  in  them  that  be- 
lieve. When  a  Christian  dies,  he  is  born  anew  to 
glory.  And  far  rather  should  we  praise  God,  that  he 
is  safe,  and  a  conqueror,  than  lament  over  his  re- 
mains, or  speak  mournfully  of  his  departure.  Better 
is  this  day  of  his  deatli  than  the  day  of  his  birth.  Now, 
he  is  crowned,  exalted,  and  happy,  beyond  the  reach 
of  suffering  or  fear.  And  we  are  to  give  glory  to 
God,  that  he  has  taken  one  more  wanderer  unto  him- 
self, and  secured  him  eternally  in  his  fold.  Soon  this 
hour  will  come  for  us,  and  if  we  are  now  in  Christ, 
we  shall  then  be  with  him.  0,  happy  will  be  that 
moment  of  return  to  God,  when  we  shall  be  acknow- 
ledged as  the  friends  of  Jesus,  and  stand  forth  with 
him  before  the  universe,  crowned  with  his  free  salva- 
tion !  And  welcome  may  be  disease,  and  languishing, 
and  death,  which  shall  bring  oiir  Emmanuel  a  second 
time  for  our  deliverance,  and  transfer  us  under  his 
guidance  to  an  eternal  home  with  him. 


III. 


GOD  S    MESSAGE    TO    ISRAEL. 


Amos  it.  12. — Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  0  Israel. 

1  HAVE  twice  spoken  upon  this  text,  as  God's  mes- 
sage to  the  spiritual  Israel.  I  come  now  to  apply  it 
with  seriousness  and  affection  to  another  class  of  my 
hearers,  of  whom  I  shall  speak  under  the  title  of  the 
IDOLATROUS  Israel.  After  what  you  have  heard 
from  me  upon  this  subject,  it  cannot  be  necessary  for 
me  now  to  say,  that  under  these  two  appellations,  I 
have  designed  to  represent,  the  converted  and  the  un- 
converted portions  of  my  hearers ;  the  religious  and 
the  irreligious  classes  of  men,  who  are  now  be- 
fore me. 

To  the  one  class,  the  message  of  the  text,  as  al- 
ready considered,  is  a  joyful  annunciation ;  a  call  for 
thankful  preparation  for  the  coming  of  a  triumphant 
Saviour.  In  view  of  his  approach,  they  are  to  lift 
up  their  heads,  to  rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad,  for 
their  redemption  draweth  nigh. 

To  the  other  class,  it  is  the  solemn  warning  of  an 
approaching  judgment ;  the  annunciation  of  a  day  of 

39 


4,0  god's   message   to   ISRAEL. 

God's  own  appointment,  when  the  measure  of  human 
trial  sliall  be  finished,  and  every  immortal  soul  shall 
receive  a  just  recompense  of  reward ;  when  he  that 
is  righteous,  shall  remain  righteous  still,  and  he  that  is 
unholy  shall  be  unholy  still. 

Into  these  two  classes  of  persons,  every  congrega- 
tion is  divided.  But  the  division  is  generally  a  very 
unequal  one.  There  are  probably,  but  a  small  por- 
tion of  the  members  of  any  of  our  public  assemblies, 
who  can  be  reasonably  addressed,  as  converted,  or 
pious  persons.  For  this  reason  it  is,  that  the  faithful 
exhortations  of  the  pulpit  must  be  generally  addressed 
to  those,  whose  attention  has  yet  to  be  awakened  to 
the  claims  of  religion,  and  whose  affections  are  to  be 
drawn  to  the  high  and  important  objects  which  the 
Gospel  presents.  True  believers  in  the  Lord  Jesus, 
the  Israel  of  God,  are  to  be  comforted,  encouraged, 
and  built  up  in  their  most  holy  faith.  The  exceeding 
great  and  precious  promises  of  the  Gospel  belong  to 
them ;  and  they  are  to  be  applied  to  them  without 
fear.  But  we  cannot  cry  peace  to  the  ungodly,  when 
there  is  no  peace.  And  there  is  no  peace  to  the 
wicked,  saith  our  God.  The  same  fidelity  which  will 
lead  us,  on  the  one  side,  to  speak  comfortably  to  the 
people  of  God,  will  compel  us  on  the  other,  to  cry 
aloud,  and  spare  not,  to  lift  up  our  voice  like  a  trum- 
pet, in  proclaiming  to  unbelieving  men,  their  dangers 
and  their  sins. 

"We  are  not  the  enemies  of  men,  because  we  tell 
them  the  truth.  Did  we  hate  them  indeed,  we  should 
leave  them  to  become  the  victims  of  their  own  in- 
fatuation ;  we  should  combine  with  Satan,  in  persuad- 
ing them  to  hold  on  upon  the  belief,  that  they  are 


god's   message   to   ISRAEL.  41 

safe,  and  may  be  happy  as  they  are ;  we  should  soothe 
them  in  their  fears ;  we  should  lull  them  into  still 
deeper  slumbers.  We  know  that  this  would  infallibly 
accomplish  their  eternal  ruin.  We  cannot  conceal 
from  ourselves  the  painful  fact,  that  the  far  greater 
portion  of  those  who  listen  to  us,  from  week  to  week, 
are  in  a  state  of  alienation  from  God,  and  under  the 
curse  of  his  broken  law ;  that  they  are  without  his 
love  in  their  hearts,  and  enemies  to  his  holy  will. 
They  are  not  our  personal  foes.  In  some  cases,  they 
are  our  dearest  friends,  bone  of  our  bone,  and  flesh 
of  our  flesh  ;  and  God  is  our  record,  how  greatly  we 
long  after  them  all,  in  the  bowels  of  Jesus  Christ. 
We  love  them  as  our  own  souls.  And  loving  them 
thus,  we  would  arouse  them  from  their  sleep ;  we 
would  convince  them  of  their  dangers ;  we  would  draw 
them,  the  Lord  being  merciful  unto  them,  to  a  city  of 
refuge,  a  place  of  eternal  safety.  To  accomplish  this 
most  important  of  all  objects,  we  warn  them  with  all 
long-suffering,  we  preach  to  them  with  all  boldness, 
we  keep  back  nothing  that  is  profitable  unto  them, 
hoping  through  the  boundless  mercy  of  Almighty  God, 
that  we  may  be  made  the  instruments  of  saving  some. 

To  this  class  of  my  hearers,  I  come  this  day,  with 
another  serious  warning.  I  have  no  message  of  con- 
solation for  unconverted  sinners,  no  words  of  peace, 
unless  the  invitations  of  the  Gospel  prove  effectual, 
and  their  hearts  are  brought  home  in  a  spiritual  con- 
version unto  Jesus  Christ  the  Lord.  The  address  of 
the  text,  is  to  them,  a  solemn  admonition. — "  Prepare 
to  meet  thy  God,  O  Israel." 

The  prophet  Amos  ministered  to  the  ten  tribes  of 
Israel,  during  the  reign  of  the  second  Jeroboam;  of 


42  god's  message  to  Israel. 

whom  it  is  said,  that  "  he  did  that  which  was  evil  in 
the  siglit  of  the  Lord,  and  departed  not  from  all  the 
sins  of  Jeroboam  the  son  of  Nebat,  who  made  Israel 
to  sin."  Under  his  idolatrous  government,  this 
prophet  was  sent  with  a  heavy  burden  from  the  Lord, 
of  warning  and  condemnation.  The  exhortation  of 
the  text  urges  them  to  take  heed  of  the  Lord's  de- 
signed dealings  among  them.  In  our  present  appli- 
cation of  it,  the  circumstances  of  the  history  which 
are  connected  with  it  may  be  employed,  as  illustrating 
the  characters  of  the  individuals,  to  whom  the  address 
is  to  be  made.  These  circumstances  will  present 
three  different  aspects  of  the  persons  to  whom  I 
now  refer. 

I.  It  was  addressed  to  those  whose  service  and 
affections  had  been  voluntarily  withdrawn  from  the 
living  God,  and  devoted  to  objects  prohibited  by 
him.  The  Israelites  had  openly  established  idola- 
trous worship  in  their  land ;  and  had  secretly  with- 
drawn their  hearts  from  God,  even  while  professing 
outwardly  to  serve  him.  When  the  first  Jeroboam 
was  made  king  of  Israel,  lest  the  hearts  of  his  sub- 
jects should  be  drawn  back  to  the  successors  of 
David,  by  assembling  for  divine  worship  at  Jerusalem 
according  to  the  Lord's  command,  he  set  up  two 
golden  calves,  the  one  at  Dan,  and  the  other  at  Bethel, 
the  northern  and  southern  extremities  of  his  newly 
acquired  kingdom,  and  commanded  all  his  subjects  to 
worship  before  them.  The  idolatry  which  he  thus 
established,  was  continued  under  all  his  successors, 
of  each  of  whom  it  is  said,  "  he  departed  not  from 
the  sins  of  Jeroboam  the  son  of  Nebat,  who  made 
Israel   to   sin."     Besides   this   open   idolatry,   their 


god's    message    to    ISRAEL.  43 

affections  had  been  devoted  to  idols,  even  when  they 
had  professed  to  offer  sacrifices  unto  the  Lord ;  for 
he  denies  that  even  those  sacrifices  had  been  offered 
at  all  unto  him.  He  declares,  that  he  hated,  he  de- 
spised their  feast  days,  and  though  they  offered  burnt- 
offerings,  and  meat-offerings,  he  would  not  accept 
them.  To  this  nation  thus  marked  by  their  idolatry, 
the  prophet  Amos  was  sent.  His  message  to  them 
was  solemn  and  faithful.  "  Seek  ye  the  Lord,  and 
ye  shall  live.  Hate  the  evil,  love  the  good,  and  esta- 
blish judgment  in  the  gate;  and  it  may  be,  the  Lord 
God  of  hosts  will  be  gracious  unto  the  remnant  of 
Jacob.  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God ;  for  lo,  he  that 
formed  the  mountains  and  declareth  unto  man  what  is 
his  thought,  and  treadeth  upon  the  high  places  of  the 
earth,  the  Lord,  the  God  of  hosts  is  his  name." 

In  applying  from  this  illustration,  the  term  idola- 
trous to  a  portion  of  my  hearers,  I  shall  undoubtedly 
be  considered  by  some  as  harsh  and  unreasonable. 
But  every  heart  before  me  has  its  peculiar  object  of 
affection  and  worship.  All  whose  hearts  have  not 
been  surrendered  in  a  new  creation,  to  the  will  and 
service  of  God,  are  devoted  to  some  opposing  service, 
and  are  fixing  their  affections  upon  fading  and  un- 
worthy objects.  Every  unconverted  man  is  an  idola- 
ter. The  covetousness  of  the  world  is  idolatry 
"  Many  walk,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  of  whom  I  have  told 
you  often,  and  now  tell  you,  even  weeping,  that  they 
are  the  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  whose  god  is 
their  belly,  and  whose  glory  is  in  their  shame,  who 
mind  earthly  things."  The  proud,  and  vain,  and  en- 
vious, are  all  idolaters.     All  who  are  not  with  Christ 


44  god's  message  to  Israel. 

are  against  him.  The  Scripture  places  before  us  but 
one  possible  alternative,  in  the  consecration  of  our 
hearts  and  affections ;  the  service  of  God,  and  the 
service  of  Mammon ;  the  love  of  the  Father,  and  the 
love  of  the  world.  This  alternative  divides  the 
world.  All  who  have  not  been  taught  to  serve  Al- 
mighty God,  in  the  spiritual  obedience  of  the  Gospel, 
and  are  not  known  to  him  as  the  subjects  of  a  new 
creation,  are  walking  in  the  ways  of  their  own  hearts, 
and  are  idolaters. 

Such  as  these,  I  address  in  the  solemn  message  of 
the  text,  who  like  the  Israelites  have  voluntarily  with- 
drawn their  affections  from  the  Creator,  and  have 
bestowed  them  upon  the  creature.  The  occupations, 
the  cares,  the  connexions,  the  pleasures  of  this  world, 
are  ruling  in  the  hearts  of  many  who  have  been  re- 
peatedly called  to  the  privileges  of  the  Gospel,  and 
have  voluntarily  refused  to  come.  Their  consciences 
bear  witness,  that  the  service  of  sin  is  not  an  involun- 
tary service ;  that  this  they  have  chosen,  rather  than 
a  hearty  subjection  to  an  holy  God.  The  man  who 
is  destitute  of  spiritual  religion,  is  remaining  so  by 
his  own  choice.  There  is  no  necessity  imposed  upon 
him  to  forsake  God,  and  to  refuse  him  the  devotion 
of  the  powers  which  he  hath  formed.  The  affec- 
tionate and  open  invitations  of  the  Gospel,  place  all 
beyond  excuse,  who  continue  in  sin,  while  grace 
abounds.  My  friends,  it  is  this  voluntary  idolatry  of 
your  hearts,  which  forms  the  guiltiness  of  your  un- 
converted state.  Christ  and  Satan,  this  world  and 
the  world  to  come,  are  placed  before  you,  as  the  ob- 
jects of  your   own   selection.     You  are  personally 


god's    message    to   ISRAEL.  45 

called  upon  to  make  your  determination  in  this  serious 
alternative;  and  this  determination  you  do  indivi- 
dually and  finally  make  for  yourselves. 

Here  is  one  who  has  made  his  deliberate  choice. 
He  has  cast  from  him  the  cords  of  divine  authority. 
He  has  recorded  his  resolution  not  to  submit  to  the 
King  of  saints.  He  has  yielded  his  understanding 
to  the  temptations  of  infidelity.  He  is  desirous  to 
think,  and  ready  to  say,  "  there  is  no  God.  Who  is 
the  Almighty  that  I  should  serve  him  ?  and  what 
profit  shall  I  have  if  I  pray  unto  him?"  The  Scrip- 
tures seem  to  him  to  have  no  marks  of  authority  or 
truth.  The  character  of  the  Saviour  appears  clothed 
in  his  view,  with  no  reverence  or  majesty.  He  fancies 
that  there  is  an  absurdity  in  the  habitual  declarations 
of  the  preacher  of  Christ.  He  thinks  himself  safe 
and  wise,  in  having  thrown  away  what  he  considers 
the  bonds  of  early  superstition,  and  in  refusing  to 
yield  to  the  professed  revelation  of  the  Most  High. 

Here  is  another,  who  has  clothed  himself  in  the 
dignity  of  total  indifference  upon  this  important  sub- 
ject. He  has  found  such  differences  of  opinion  among 
professing  Christians,  upon  the  various  topics  of  reli- 
gious faith,  that  he  will  not  suffer  himself  to  interfere 
at  all  in  the  matter.  When  all  men  who  profess  to 
have  found  the  truth,  are  perfectly  united  in  their 
views  of  truth,  he  will  stop  to  consider  its  claims. 
But  until  that  time  shall  come,  he  claims  the  liberty 
of  despising  altogether,  a  religion  which  is  the  subject 
of  so  much  contention.  The  religion  of  nature,  and 
the  morality  of  his  own  attainment,  are  enough  for 
him.  He  has  no  fear,  that  God  will  cast  him  off,  al- 
though God  is  not  in  all  his  thoughts.     He  has  never 


46  god's  message  to  Israel. 

doubted  his  personal  security,  although  he  has  never 
bestowed  a  single  serious  thought  upon  the  subject. 

Here  is  a  third,  wlio  is  really  so  busy  that  he  has 
no  time  to  think  of  God,  or  of  his  own  soul.  He 
imagines  that  he  would  gladly  do  it,  if  he  had  the 
opportunity.  But  w^hen  he  rises  up  early  in  the 
morning,  some  engagement  presses  upon  his  time. 
Hour  after  hour,  some  one  is  waiting  for  him,  who 
cannot  be  put  off.  Thus  days  pass  away  with  him ; 
and  God  is  obliged  still  to  wait  upon  him  without 
effect.  His  unconverted  soul  is  still  without  Christ. 
He  has  no  peace  with  God.  He  has  no  comfort  of 
future  hope.  All  because  he  has  no  time  to  think  of 
any  thing,  but  the  business  which  presses  him  around. 
He  will  not  allow  that  he  despises  the  solemn  claims 
of  the  religion  of  the  Son  of  God.  But  it  is  quite 
evident,  that  he  deems  them  of  less  importance,  than 
the  claims  of  worldly  business  and  gain,  because  they 
are  always  required  to  give  way  to  these.  He  has  not 
seriously  determined,  that  he  will  never  yield  to  the 
Saviour's  demands.  Perhaps,  he  really  intends  the 
exact  opposite  of  this.  But  he  has  now  lived  so  long 
without  finding  time  for  that  attention  to  religion, 
which  is  required  of  him,  that  the  probability  is  now 
very  small,  that  the  hour  of  conversion  will  ever  come 
to  him. 

Here  is  a  female  hearer  who  trifles  too  much  to 
think  of  her  soul.  She  might  as  well  have  been  made 
without  an  immortal  nature,  for  she  has  never  re- 
garded its  interests,  or  its  value.  She  is  dead  while 
she  lives.  She  is  without  seriousness,  without  fear, 
without  any  concern  for  the  realities  of  an  eternal 
world.     She  forgets  how  soon  she  will  lie  down  in 


god's    message   to   ISRAEL.  47 

the  grave,  where  the  worms  shall* be  spread  under  her, 
and  the  worms  shall  cover  her ;  how  soon  she  must 
stand  before  a  judgment  seat,  to  give  account  for  her- 
self, of  an  abused  and  wasted  life ;  and  how  little  she 
has  in  her  own  character  and  recollection,  to  comfort 
her  in  either  of  these  prospects. 

Here  are  four  classes  of  persons,  and  they  might 
be  enlarged  in  their  enumeration  to  many  more,  who 
have  voluntarily  withdrawn  their  affections  from  the 
God  who  made  them,  and  have  fixed  them  upon  ob- 
jects opposed  to  him,  and  prohibited  by  him.  The 
fundamental  principle  of  all  these  characters  is  the 
same.  It  is  the  carelessness  of  a  carnal  mind,  and 
the  Ijardness  of  an  unconverted  heart.  If  they  were 
but  made  to  feel  the  power  and  danger  of  their  sins;  the 
infidelity,  and  indifierence,  and  occupation,  and  levity, 
which  severally  characterize  them,  would  all  give  place 
to  that  one,  anxious,  important  question,  "  what  shall 
I  do  to  be  saved?"  Outward  differences  in  their  cha- 
racters are  but  of  small  consequence.  The  one  great 
question  to  be  settled  for  them  all,  is  v/hether  their 
hearts  shall  be  submitted  to  the  spiritual  dominion  of 
the  Redeemer.  They  do  not  like  to  retain  God  in 
their  knowledge.  They  cannot  walk  together  with 
him,  for  they  are  not  agreed.  The  principle  of  indwell- 
ing, dominant  sin,  manifests  itself  in  their  different 
characters,  under  different  aspects,  precisely  as  the 
waters  of  one  grand  ocean  receive  their  different 
names  as  they  wash  upon  the  shores  of  different 
lands.  But  it  is  the  same  principle  of  sin  in  all.  It 
is  the  carnal  mind,  which  is  enmity  against  God,  and 
which  results  in  death. 

These  persons  are  called  idolatrous,  for  they  have 


48  god's  message  to  Israel. 

set  up  their  idols  in  every  place.  They  have  forsaken 
God,  the  fountain  of  living  waters,  and  have  hewod 
them  out  cisterns,  broken  cisterns,  which  can  hold  no 
water.  I  call  them  voluntarily  idolatrous,  for  thsy 
have  made  their  present  course  the  object  of  their 
own  choice ;  and  there  is  no  other  reason  than  their 
own  choice,  which  can  account  for  their  remaining  in 
an  unconverted  state.  They  miglit  come  to  Jesus, 
and  find  everlasting  acceptance  and  peace  with  him, 
if  they  could  be  persuaded  to  prefer  the  reproach  of 
Christ  to  the  pleasures  of  sin,  which  are  but  for  a 
season.  To  such  as  these,  the  solemn  message  of  the 
text  comes  with  power.  Prepare  to  meet  a  God  in 
vengeance,  whom  you  have  rejected  in  mercy.  .Pre- 
pare to  meet  a  God  on  the  throne  of  judgment,  whom 
you  have  neglected  in  his  atonement  upon  the  cross. 
Prepare  to  meet  a  God  exalted  with  unlimited  power, 
whom  you  have  forsaken  when  he  was  humbled  in 
love.  This  personal,  chosen,  determined  rejection  of 
the  mercies  of  the  Gospel,  this  voluntary  alienation 
from  God,  this  continuance  in  an  unconverted  state 
without  necessity,  marks  the  first  distinction  of  those 
to  whom  the  message  of  the  text  is  now  addressed. 

II.  The  exhortation  of  this  text  was  addressed  to 
those  who  had  experienced  many  chastising  visita- 
tions from  Almighty  God,  without  effect.  Under  the 
peculiar  government  by  which  God  controlled  the 
Israelites,  he  visited  their  transgressions  with  imme- 
diate temporal  punishments.  Thus  had  he  done  in 
the  time  of  Amos.  But  it  had  been  without  any  good 
efiect.  Punishment  had  not  led  them  from  their 
idolatry,  nor  brought  them  to  repentance.  "  I  gave 
you,"  says  the  Lord,  "  cleanness  of  teeth  in  all  your 


god's   message   to   ISRAEL.  49 

cities,  and  want  of  bread  in  all  your  places ;  yet  ye 
have  not  returned  unto  me,  saith  the  Lord.     And 
also  I  have  withholden  the  rain  from  you,  w^hen  there 
were  yet  three  months  to  the  harvest;  and  I  caused 
it  to  rain  upon  one  city,  and  caused  it  not  to  rain 
upon  another  city ;  one  piece  was  rained  upon,  and 
the  piece  whereupon  it  rained  not,  withered.     So  two 
or  three  cities  wandered  unto  one  city  to  drink  water, 
but  they  were  not  satisfied ;  yet  ye  have  not  returned 
unto  me,  saith  the  Lord.     I  have  smitten  you  with 
blasting  and  mildew;  when  your  gardens,  and  your 
vineyards,  and  your  fig  trees,  and  your  olive  trees, 
increased,  the  palmer  worm  devoured  them ;  yet  ye 
have  not  returned  unto  me,  saith  the  Lord.     I  have 
sent  unto  you  the   pestilence   after  the   manner  of 
Egypt ;  your  young  men  have  I  slain  with  the  sword, 
and  I  have  taken  away  your  horses ;  and  I  have  made 
the  stink  of  your  camps  to  come  up  into  your  nostrils; 
yet  ye  have  not  returned  unto  me,  saith  the  Lord." 
This  is  the  catalogue  of  judgments,  which  God  had 
unavailingly   sent    upon    them.      They   might   have 
seemed  to  be  sufficient  to  have  humbled  and  cor- 
rected them.     Yet  as  they  are  here  recited  by  the 
Lord  who  had  sent  them,  the  same  mournful  conclu- 
sion follows  upon  the  recollection  of  each ;  "  yet  ye 
have  not  returned  unto  me,  saith  the  Lord." 

How  plainly  descriptive  is  this  statement,  of  some  to 
whom  I  am  now  addressing  the  same  solemn  message ! 
Precisely  such  has  been  the  growth  of  carelessness 
and  ingratitude  with  them,  under  the  corrective  visi- 
tations of  divine  Providence.  He  has  stricken  them, 
but  they  have  not  been  made  to  feel  their  spiritual 
sickness.  He  has  beaten  them,  and  they  heeded  it 
E  7 


50  god's  message  to  Israel. 

not.  They  have  revolted  more  and  more.  The 
whole  head  is  sick,  and  the  whole  heart  is  faint. 
How  various  are  the  charges  of  this  description, 
which  he  must  make  individually  against  you  I  I  laid 
you  upon  a  bed  of  sickness,  says  God  to  one  of  you, 
yet  you  have  not  returned  unto  me.  You  promised 
to  serve  me  upon  tlie- return  of  health.  Your  health 
has  been  restored,  and  you  have  not  served  me.  I 
sent  the  angel  of  death  into  your  family,  he  says  to 
another,  and  the  affliction  has  produced  no  submis- 
sion. While  the  wound  was  fresh  and  open,  your 
spirit  seemed  for  a  little  while  humbled.  But  it  has 
been  closed  and  forgotten,  and  you  have  not  returned 
unto  me.  I  have  reduced  you  to  poverty,  he  says  to 
a  third,  and  still  your  spirit  is  rebellious  and  proud. 
I  have  brought  many  of  you  to  the  edge  of  another 
world ;  I  have  awakened  you  with  tlie  fearful  pros- 
pect of  eternal  judgment ;  1  have  showed  to  you  that 
it  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living 
God ;  and  yet  you  have  not  returned  unto  me.  You 
still  remain  stout-hearted,  and  heedless,  and  bold,  in 
the  enmity  of  your  heart  against  me. 

Such  instances  are  before  me  in  great  numbers; 
souls  that  have  been  hardened  in  the  fires  of  Provi- 
dence ;  that  have  grown  callous  and  impenetrable  in 
a  state  of  sin,  under  all  the  instruments  which  have 
been  employed  to  arouse  them  to  think  of  the  things 
which  belong  to  their  peace;  that  have  showed  to 
what  an  extent,  the  creatures  of  God,  poor  and  insig- 
nificant as  they  are,  may  resist  his  will,  strive  against 
his  power,  and  defeat  the  operation  of  his  offers  of 
m^rcy.  0,  how  dreadful  is  the  thought,  that  this  re 
sistance  against  God  may  be  carried  on  until,  as  its 


god's   message   to   ISRAEL.  51 

necessary  result,  God  shall  say  of  them  as  he  did  of 
Pharaoh,  "  for  this  cause  have  I  raised  thee  up,  to 
make  in  thee,  my  power  known,"  to  show  that  none 
can  harden  himself  against  God  and  prosper !  It  is 
a  mournful  view  which  these  facts  present  of  the  cha- 
racter of  irreligious  men ;  that  the  very  dispensations 
which  are  made  the  instruments  of  saving  multitudes, 
only  serve  to  ripen  them  in  their  sins,  and  to  fill  up 
the  measure  of  their  condemnation. 

The  children  of  God  may  praise  him  for  his  chastise- 
ments. They  may  look  back  upon  sickness,  and  sor- 
row, and  want,  as  the  blessed  instruments  of  arousing 
them  from  their  carelessness  in  sin,  of  making  them 
feel  for  the  necessities  of  their  souls,  and  of  bringing 
them  to  ask  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  for  a  hope  of  peace. 
Every  painful  providence  dispensed  to  man,  is  either 
a  blessing  or  a  curse.  If  it  be  made  the  instrument 
of  calling  home  the  heart  to  God,  however  severe  it 
may  be,  it  is  an  evidence  of  God's  kindness  and  com- 
passion, and  a  reason  for  new  gratitude  to  him.  If 
it  merely  hardens  us  in  a  state  of  sin,  it  is  a  punish- 
ment, a  portion  of  that  wrath  which  must  be  poured 
out  upon  sinners,  throughout  eternity.  And  in  pro- 
portion as  such  dispensations  are  multiplied  in  the 
history  of  irreligious  persons,  the  guiltiness  of  their 
character  is  aggravated,  and  the  terror  of  their  pros- 
pects is  enlarged.  When  God  has  been  thus  unavail- 
ingly  dealing  with  you,  by  many  different  instruments 
of  good,  the  prospect  of  meeting  him  in  a  personal 
account,  becomes  still  the  more  serious  and  repulsive. 
And  this  is  the  point  to  which  I  would  now  call  your 
special  attention. 

You  have  resisted  his  government,  and  have  made 


52  god's  message  to  Israel. 

all  that  he  has  done  for  you,  of  none  effect.  Your 
own  recollections  furnish  you  with  many  instances,  in 
which,  under  the  weight  of  his  hand,  you  have  deter- 
mined to  submit  to  him,  and  yet  you  have  not  done  it. 
Had  he  left  you  entirely  to  yourselves,  unnoticed,  un- 
warned, unawakened,  there  might  have  been  urged 
something  for  your  excuse.  But  there  is  not  a  habi- 
tation among  you,  in  which  God  has  not  made  bare 
his  arm,  for  sickness,  or  sorrow,  or  cause  of  lamen- 
tation of  some  description,  showing  you,  that  you 
were  objects  of  his  regard,  and  that  he  wished  you  to 
become  partakers  of  his  holiness.  And  yet,  how 
many  unrenewed,  and  perhaps,  careless  souls,  does 
every  habitation  contain  ;  testifying  still,  that  however 
abundant  have  been  the  kind  warnings  of  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  ungrateful  men  are  still  able  to  receive 
them  all  without  effect.  To  such,  as  the  last  remain- 
ing communication  from  God,  the  message  of  the  text 
is  addressed,  "  Thus  will  I  do  unto  thee,  therefore 
prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  0  Israel,"  even  God  who 
Cometh  with  a  recompense  ! 

III.  The  warning  of  our  text  was  addressed  to 
those  who  had  been  the  peculiar  objects  of  divine  for- 
bearance, without  repentance.  Thus  God  says  to 
ihem,  "  I  have  overthrown  some  of  you,  as  God  over- 
threw Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  ye  were  as  a  fire- 
brand plucked  out  of  the  burning ;  yet  have  ye  not 
returned  unto  me,  saith  the  Lord.  Therefore,  thus 
will  I  do  unto  thee,  0  Israel,  and  because  I  Avill  do 
this  unto  thee,  prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  O  Israel." 
The  destruction  which  had  been  brought  upon  others, 
was  immediate,  and  without  a  remedy.  It  was  like 
that  awful  destruction  which  God  had  brought  upon 


god's   message    to    ISRAEL.  53 

the  guilty  cities  which  are  here  referred  to,  as  an 
"ensample  unto  those  who  should  after  live  un- 
godly." Amidst  this  dreadful  judgment  upon  others 
of  the  people,  the  Israelites  to  whom  the  prophet 
speaks,  were  mercifully  protected  and  preserved,  "  as 
a  firebrand  plucked  out  of  the  burning."  But  the 
divine  forbearance  was  without  effect.  They  still  re- 
mained in  a  careless  state  of  disobedience  to  God, 
and  had  not  returned  unto  him.  And  now  divine 
forbearance  was  exhausted,  and  God  commanded 
them  to  be  ready  to  give  an  account  of  all  that  was 
past. 

Thus,  my  brethren,  do  many  despise  the  riches  of 
his  goodness,  and  forbearance,  and  long-suffering,  not 
willing  that  the  goodness  of  God  should  lead  tliem  to 
repentance.  The  Lord  is  long-suffering  unto  all. 
He  desires  not  that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all 
should  come  to  repentance.  This  long-suffering  of 
our  God  is  salvation,  if  it  be  not  rejected  and  despised. 
In  sparing  men  from  year  to  year,  amidst  all  the  pri- 
vileges of  revelation,  God  proves  to  them,  that  he 
wishes  them  to  be  saved,  and  to  come  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  truth.  But  in  how  many  instances,  is 
all  this  forbearance  insufficient  to  lead  men  to  seek 
after,  and  to  embrace  the  riches  of  his  love !  Not- 
withstanding all  the  mercy  with  which  he  has  endured 
towards  them,  they  remain  still  idolatrous  and  uncon- 
verted. It  is  of  his  mercies,  that  they  are  not  con- 
sumed. But  these  mercies  excite  no  gratitude  with 
them.  Though  he  is  pleased  to  postpone  the  hour 
for  the  execution  of  his  judgment  against  them,  if 
peradventure,  they  will  be  persuaded  to  return  to  him, 
they  yet  stand  in  his  vineyard,  as  cumberers  of  the 
E  2 


54  god's  message  to  Israel. 

ground.  The  companions  of  their  youth  have,  per- 
haps, long  since  passed  into  a  world  of  recompense. 
The  partakers  of  many  of  their  scenes  of  folly  and 
guilt,  have  gone  to  answer  for  their  transgressions. 
The  members  of  their  family  and  household  have 
been  suddenly  cut  off,  and  that  without  remedy.  And 
in  many  instances  they  are  left,  standing  almost  alone 
in  a  world  of  strangers.  And  yet,  wonderful  to  tell ! 
these  children  of  many  providences,  these  objects  of 
much  long-suffering,  are  still  unclianged  in  heart,  and 
living  without  God  in  the  world !  The  extent  to 
which  they  have  made  the  forbearance  of  God  with- 
out effect,  is  indeed  distressing.  But  the  amount  of 
danger  and  suffering,  which  this  neglect  of  God 
gathers  for  such  sinful  souls,  around  the  personal  ap- 
pearance of  our  great  God  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ, 
to  judge  the  world  in  righteousness,  and  to  reward 
men  according  to  their  works,  is  far  more  distressing. 
0,  it  will  be  a  mournful  account  which  they  must 
render  unto  God,  who  have  turned  the  grace  of  God 
into  licentiousness,  and  sinned  when  grace  abounds ; 
who  have  pressed  God  under  the  weight  of  their 
iniquities,  and  made  him  to  serve  with  their  sins ! 
But  it  is  the  account  which  is  certainly  before  them, 
and  for  which  sinners  must  prepare  themselves. 
Though  they  do  evil  many  years,  and  sentence  against 
their  evil  works  be  not  executed  speedily,  yet  in  the 
end,  which  will  soon  arrive  for  them,  their  iniquity 
shall  not  go  unpunished. 

Under  these  three  aspects,  as  illustrated  by  the  his- 
tory connected  with  the  text,  may  their  characters  be 
considered,  to  whom  we  address  this  message,  as  to 
the  idolatrous  Israel.     Their  guilt  is  in  their  volun- 


god's    message    to    ISRAEL.  55 

tary  choice  of  the  paths  of  sin,  amidst  all  the  chas- 
tisements and  judgments  which  they  endure,  and  all 
the  forbearance  which  is  exercised  towards  them. 
Charged  with  this  guilt,  they  are  to  be  brought  into 
account  before  God,  in  the  day  of  his  appearing.  For 
this  account  they  are  warned  to  be  prepared.  Who 
can  abide  the  day  of  his  coming  ?  and  who  can  stand 
when  he  appeareth  ?  When  he  riseth  up,  what  will 
they  say  ?  When  he  visiteth,  what  will  they  answer 
him? 


IV. 


god's    message    to    ISRAEL. 


Amos  iv.  12. — Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  0  Israel, 

I  AM  engaged  in  applying  this  solemn  message  to 
the  unconverted  portion  of  my  audience.  The 
various  aspects  of  their  character,  to  which  the  his- 
tory connected  with  the  text  directs  us,  have  already 
been  made  the  subjects  of  consideration.  I  would 
now  direct  your  notice  to  the  great  day  itself,  of  the 
approach  of  which,  the  text  admonishes  them. 

The  purposes  of  Almighty  God  are  ripening  fast. 
He  that  shall  come,  will  come,  and  will  not  tarry.  It 
is  to  a  settled,  determined,  inevitable  approach  of 
God,  that  the  attention  of  men  must  be  directed. 
His  coming  as  a  final  Judge  cannot  be  postponed.  It 
is  not  left  to  us  to  say  when  it  shall  be,  or  whether  it 
shall  be  at  all.  But  it  is  left  with  us  to  determine 
whether  we  shall  be  prepared  for  its  arrival.  That 
solemn  day  may  find  us  altogether  wanting  in  a  readi- 
ness for  its  events.  It  may  find  us  busied  in  our 
numerous  engagements  here,  without  one  thought  of 
their  result  hereafter.     It  may  find  us  glorying  in 

56 


god's   message    to   ISRAEL.  57 

earthly  and  perishable  treasures,  without  any  weight 
of  incorruptible  glory  laid  up  in  another  world.  Or 
it  may  find  us  living  by  faith,  watching  unto  prayer, 
and  zealous  of  good  works.  Much  in  reference  to 
this  all-important  alternative  rests  upon  ourselves. 
And  while  God  has  given  us  abundant  grace,  it  is 
that  we  may  improve  for  our  own  salvation,  the  pri- 
vileges we  enjoy,  and  be  left  entirely  without  excuse, 
if  we  are  negligent  of  his  love. 

The  peculiar  characteristics  of  men  as  connected 
with  this  accountability  to  God,  we  have  considered. 
The  only  guilt  which  we  charge  upon  them,  and  the 
only  guilt  for  which  they  must  answer,  is  a  voluntary 
guilt.  It  is  the  consciousness  of  this  voluntary  guilt 
which  clothes  the  establishment  of  a  judgment  seat 
with  such  terror,  and  which  will  stop  the  mouths  of 
ungodly  men,  in  the  great  day  of  the  Lord.  Then 
the  revelation  of  the  wrath  of  God  shall  have  come, 
and  no  sinner  shall  be  able  to  stand. 

In  making  my  present  final  application  of  the  mes- 
sage of  this  text  to  the  idolatrous  Israel,  the  subject 
will  bring  before  us  some  considerations  which  will 
render  that  day  intolerable  to  those  who  liave  impe- 
nitently  done  evil,  and  who  must  be  judged  for  the 
evil  they  have  done.  The  accusations  whicli  men 
will  then  make,  will  rest  entirely  upon  themselves. 
They  v/ill  see,  that  God  could  have  done  nothing  in 
tlieir  behalf,  which  he  has  not  done ;  that  the  clearest 
discoveries  of  divine  love  have  been  neglected ;  that 
the  most  expensive  and  glorious  system  of  redemption 
has  been  slighted  ;  that  the  highest  possible  messenger 
of  mercy  has  been  despised ;  and  that  the  most  won- 
derful patience  and  long-suffering  has  been  exhausted. 

8 


58  god's  message  to  Israel 

Convinced  of  all  this,  their  mouths  will  be  stopped 
in  the  presence  of  a  heart-searching  God.  No  vain 
plea  vv^ill  answ^er  their  purpose,  and  no  just  plea  will 
they  be  able  to  urge.  The  serious  alarm  with  which 
they  will  be  seized,  the  revelations  of  the  Scriptures 
have  already  set  before  us ;  and  no  rational  man,  ] 
think,  can  avoid  the  deep  impression  of  reverence  and 
fear,  as  he  reads  the  descriptions  which  they  have  re- 
corded. "  The  heavens  departed,  as  a  scroll  when  it 
is  rolled  together ;  and  every  mountain  and  island 
were  moved  out  of  their  places.  And  the  kings  of 
the  earth,  and  the  great  men,  and  the  rich  men,  and 
the  chief  captains,  and  the  mighty  men,  and  every 
bondman,  and  every  freeman,  hid  themselves  in  the 
dens,  and  in  the  rocks  of  the  mountains;  and  they 
said  to  the  mountains  and  rocks,  fall  on  us,  and  hide 
us  from  the  face  of  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne, 
and  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb ;  for  the  great  day 
of  his  wrath  has  come,  and  who  shall  be  able  to 
stand  ?"  To  those  who  have  lived  and  died  in  care- 
lessness about  their  souls,  that  day  will  be  a  day  of 
sorrow  and  mourning ;  a  day  in  which  all  their  faces 
shall  gather  blackness ;  a  day  in  which  tribulation 
and  anguish  will  be  the  portion  of  every  soul  of  man 
that  has  impenitently  done  evil. 

1.  In  that  day  of  God's  coming,  such  among  you 
will  think  of  the  clear  and  inestimable  manifestations 
of  divine  love  which  they  have  neglected.  No  human 
beings  have  had  the  opportunity  of  being  acquainted 
with  the  character,  requisitions,  and  purposes  of  God, 
which  have  been  granted  unto  those  who  have  lived 
under  the  light  of  the  Gospel  revelation.  Heathens, 
Mahometans,  and  Jews;   men  of  all  ages,  and  all 


god's  message  ro  Israel.  59 

nations,  shall  rise  up  in  the  judgment  with  the  men 
of  this  generation,  and  shall  condemn  them.  My 
friends,  you  stand  before  God,  under  a  weight  of  re- 
sponsibility which  no  human  beings  have  ever  borne 
before.  There  is  not  a  conceivable  privilege  con- 
nected with  salvation,  which  your  souls  do  not  enjoy. 
All  other  discoveries  of  the  love  of  God  are  far  in- 
ferior to  that  light  of  the  knowledge  of  his  glory 
which  is  displayed  to  you  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ. 
And  of  necessity,  the  guilt  of  rejecting  this  wonder- 
ful display  of  love,  is  just  so  much  tlie  more  increased. 
If  he  that  despised  Moses'  law,  died  without  mercy, 
under  two  or  three  witnesses,  of  how  much  sorer 
punishment  shall  he  be  thought  worthy,  who  hath 
trodden  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  counted  the 
blood  of  the  covenant  wherewith  he  was  sanctified, 
an  unholy  thing,  and  h:.th  done  despite  to  the  Spirit 
of  grace  ? 

All  other  ages  of  the  Gospel  dispensation  have 
afforded  far  inferior  opportunities  of  acquaintance 
with  its  plans  of  grace,  and  of  embracing  its  glorious 
invitations  of  mercy,  to  those  which  you  enjoy.  Many 
a  broken  and  humbled  spirit  in  the  darkness  of  hea- 
thenism, is  feeling  after  God,  if  haply  he  may  find 
him,  and  vainly  trying  to  satisfy  his  mind,  that  the 
Godhead  is  like  unto  gold  and  silver,  graven  with  art, 
and  man's  device.  Many  a  despondent  Jew  is  anxi- 
ously waiting  for  that  salvation  of  God,  that  coming 
of  his  Messiah,  which  he  imagines  to  be  still  a  future 
event.  And  many  a  worshipper  in  a  decayed  and 
corrupted  Christian  church,  is  truly  longing  for  the': 
acceptance  before  God,  which  he  falsely  supposes 
saints  and  angels  can  procure  for  him ;  while  the  ful- 


60  god's  message  To  Israel. 

ness  of  a  salvation  already  accomplished  in  the  infinite 
sufficiency  of  one  glorious  Mediator,  shines  around 
you,  as  the  brightness  of  the  divine  glory,  inviting 
you  to  become  partakers  of  the  heavenly  benefit,  and 
to  taste  of  the  good  word  of  God,  and  of  the  powers 
of  the  world  to  come.  The  pagan,  the  Jew,  and  the 
darkened  member  of  the  professed  Christian  church, 
will  appear  against  you,  before  the  throne  of  God. 
Many  of  you  think  little  of  these  discoveries  of 
divine  love  and  compassion  now.  But  in  the  day  of 
God's  coming  they  will  arise  before  you,  as  fearful 
aggravations  of  your  guilt.  Every  faithful  exhibition 
of  the  Gospel  which  has  been  made  to  your  souls; 
every  affectionate  persuasion  which  you  have  heard 
to  lead  you  to  Christ;  the  tender  and  earnest  in- 
treaties  which  almost  persuaded  you  to  become  the 
disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus;  the  moving  appeals  which 
have  so  often  melted  you  into  unavailing  tears ;  the 
startling  admonitions  which  have  compelled  you  to 
stop  and  question  with  yourselves,  all  these  will 
crowd  before  your  recollection  in  that  day,  as  so 
many  reasons  for  inevitable  and  just  condemnation. 
While  you  allow  all  these  privileges  to  pass  by  you 
now  without  profit,  you  are  laying  up  sorrow  against 
the  last  days.  The  negligence  of  them  is  exceeding 
guilt.  The  recollection  of  them  then,  will  show  you 
that  you  have  been  treasuring  up  wratli  against  the 
day  of  wrath,  and  of  the  revelation  of  the  righteous 
anger  of  God. 

2.  You  will  think  in  that  day  of  the  laborious  and 
expensive  system  which  was  devised  and  executed  for 
your  redemption.  Angels  will  seem  to  have  no  theme 
of  praise  compared  with  the  ransomed  members  of 


god's    message    to    ISRAEL.  61 

the  human  family ;  and  fallen  spirits  from  among  their 
number,  no  beinousness  of  guilt,  when  viewed  in  con- 
trast Avitb  the  sinfulness  of  self-destroyed  man.     The 
Lord  Jesus  will  then  be  manifested  in  unlimited  glory 
and  exaltation.     All  the  woes  which  he  sustained  in 
his  humiliation  for  man,  and  the  condescension  and 
pity  which  he  exhibited  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  will 
be  remembered,  as  enhancing  the  dignity  of  that  eleva- 
tion which  he  will  then  display.     Tlie  love  which  he 
felt  for  men  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  the 
kindness  with  which  he  watched  over  their  interests 
from  the  hour  of  their  creation,  the  cheerfulness  with 
which  he  gave  up  the  glory  which  he  had  before  the 
world  was,  that  he  might  be  made  in  all  respects  a 
proper  substitute  for  them,  will  then  appear  as  aggra- 
vations of  their  ingratitude  and  guilt,  who  have  cru- 
cified him  afresh,  and   put  him   to  an  open   shame. 
Love  and  suffering  beyond  the  power  of  man  to  un- 
derstand, have  united  to  effect  the  redemption  of  sin- 
ners.    And  yet  in  a  vast  multitude  of  instances,  the 
labour  and  the  sorrow  have  been  wholly  in  vain,  in 
their  efforts  to  lead  guilty  men  to  safety.     But  this 
cruel  ingratitude  of  men  cannot  go  unpunished.     It 
will  add  fierceness  to  the  just  anger  of  God,  and  ex- 
ceeding pain  to  the  unavoidable  consciousness  of  the 
sinner's  soul.     The  neglect  of  less  mercy  would  have 
called  for  the  infliction  of  a  less  condemnation.     But 
there  is  not  here  one  heedless  sinner,  who  has  not 
with  perverse  determination  rejected  the  unspeakable 
compassion  of  a  crucified  Redeemer,  and  rendered 
unavailing  a  system  of  deliverance,  upon  which  the 
hosts  of  heaven  look  down  with  unceasing  astonish- 
ment.    0,  unconverted  hearers  of  the  Gospel,  your 
F 


62  god's  message  to  Israel 

sins  are  crimsoned  with  the  despised  blood  of  Jesus ; 
and  that  blood  testifies  against  you  before  the  judg- 
ment seat  of  Almighty  God.  It  has  a  voice  to  pierce 
the  skies ;  and  it  calls  for  a  retribution  still  the  more 
fearful  and  heavy,  upon  those  who  have  declared  in 
their  rejection  of  its  saving  power,  tliat  they  counted 
it  an  unholy  and  worthless  thing.  The  immoralities 
of  men  will  be  forgotten.  The  violated  law  will 
cease  to  accuse.  Every  other  charge  and  witness 
will  be  silenced,  in  view  of  that  fearful  guilt,  which 
is  involved  in  your  rejection  of  the  Son  of  God,  and 
your  compelling  of  him  to  die  in  vain. 

3.  The  recompense  of  that  dreadful  day  of  God's 
coming  will  be  farther  aggravated,  by  a  clear  view  of 
the  dignity  of  that  holy  and  merciful  Being,  who  has 
been  thus  despised.  Patriarchs  and  prophets,  apos- 
tles and  martyrs,  are  but  of  small  account,  when  the 
character  of  that  messenger  who  was  sent  last  of  all 
to  men,  is  made  the  subject  of  consideration.  Angels 
bow  around  his  throne  of  inaccessible  light,  and  ac- 
knowledge him,  the  blessed  and  only  Potentate,  the 
Lord  of  lords,  and  King  of  kings.  Redeemed  saints 
cast  their  crowns  before  his  feet,  in  the  united  decla- 
ration, that  he  is  worthy  to  receive  all  riches,  and 
honour,  and  glory,  and  blessing.  But  by  men  on 
earth,  by  many  of  you,  my  friends,  he  is  treated  with 
contumely  and  neglect.  When  his  ministers  are  de- 
spised, or  his  word  is  rejected,  it  is  his  own  dignit}' 
v^hich  is  the  real  object  of  man's  contempt.  These 
instruments  of  his,  are  in  themselves,  of  but  very 
small  account.  The  real  question  before  your  hearts, 
involves  his  personal  authority,  and  an  acceptance  of 
his  personal  offers  of  grace.     Amidst  all  your  hesita- 


god's   message    to   ISRAEL.  63 

tion  to  yield  to  him,  and  to  believe  in  him,  he  forbears 
with  you  now.  He  conceals  amidst  clouds  and  dark- 
ness, the  justice  and  judgment  which  form  the  habi- 
tation of  his  throne.  But  in  that  great  day  of  his 
coming,  he  will  say,  "  those  mine  enemies,  which 
would  not  that  I  sliould  reign  over  them,  bring 
them  hither,  and  slay  them  before  me."  This  is  an 
inevitable  result.  The  dignity  of  his  own  person 
affixes  the  measure  of  guilt  to  the  conduct  of  those 
who  have  thus  despised  him.  The  contempt  of  an 
inferior  being  would  be  of  less  consequence.  But 
while  he  is  revealed  as  the  Infinite  and  Almighty  Sa- 
viour of  men,  transgressions  against  him  rise  up  to  a 
measure  of  guilt,  which  demands  a  punishment  totally 
inconceivable  to  us  in  its  degree. 

4.  Beyond  all  these,  you  will  reflect  in  that  great 
day  of  God's  coming,  upon  his  long-continued  for- 
bearance, which  has  been  abused  and  exhausted,  by 
your  perverseness  in  sin.  How  clearly  will  all  the 
merciful  dispensations  of  his  providence  be  set  before 
you !  Every  favour  which  you  have  received,  every 
joy  which  has  crowned  your  days,  will  press  upon 
your  recollection.  "  Many  years  did  God  surround 
me  with  his  goodness;"  will  your  hearts  exclaim,  "his 
candle  shined  upon  my  habitation  ;  I  had  daily  new 
proofs  of  his  merciful  kindness  towards  me ;  often, 
when  my  sins  had  provoked  his  anger  to  arise,  and 
he  was  justly  excited  to  cut  me  off  from  the  earth,  he 
has  still  endured  with  me,  and  has  spared  me  still,  as 
a  witness  of  his  love ;  and  notwithstanding  all  liis 
long-suffering,  I  lived  and  died  in  rebellion  against 
him."  You  will  reflect  upon  the  fearful  fact,  that  all 
this  goodness  towards  you,  has  been  in  vain ;  that  it 


64  god's  message  to  Israel. 

lias  been  to  no  purpose,  that  he  has  prospered  and 
blessed  you.  He  wooed  you  to  embrace  his  love 
without  effect.  He  intreated  you  to  become  partakers 
of  his  holiness  in  vain.  Even  unto  grey  hairs,  he  has 
waited  upon  some  of  you,  to  see  whether  amidst  all 
his  long-continued  goodness,  you  would  turn  unto  him 
and  live.  But  all  his  kindness  has  been  without  ad- 
vantage to  you.  In  his  great  day,  all  these  abused 
mercies  will  be  charged  upon  you,  with  undeniable 
truth.  Your  consciences  will  own  the  justice  of 
every  charge.  And  O,  how  mournful  will  it  be,  to  be 
banished  from  the  holy  presence  of  God,  to  be  made 
the  eternal  companion  of  lost  and  despairing  spirits, 
to  lie  down  amidst  unchanging  sorroAvs,  to  feel  that 
you  are  lost  without  recovery,  and  without  hope, 
simply  because  you  have  rejected  the  blessings  which 
were  freely  offered  you,  and  have  despised  a  Re- 
deemer, who  was  able  and  willing  to  have  saved  you 
to  the  uttermost !  Nothing  will  tend  to  make  your 
condemnation  so  intolerable,  as  this  indelible  convic- 
tion, that  it  was  unnecessary,  and  might  have  been 
avoided.  You  will  see,  that  instead  of  lamenting 
your  miserable  portion  forever,  you  might  have  been 
praising  God  in  the  habitation  of  his  holiness;  instead 
of  being  bruised  forever  under  the  feet  of  Satan,  you 
might  have  been  sitting  eternally  at  the  feet  of  Jesus, 
and  following  him  gladly  whithersoever  he  went. 
This  conviction  will  make  a  worm  that  never  dies , 
a  sorrow  which  is  perpetual;  a  wound  for  which  there 
is  no  remedy.  "Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,"  will 
Jesus  say,  "  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the 
devil  and  his  angels.  I  know  you  not.  I  was  a 
stranger,  ye  took  me  not  in.     This  is  your  condem 


god's    message    to    ISRAEL.  65 

nation,  that  light,  even  the  hght  of  the  glorious  Gos- 
pel of  Christ,  has  come  into  the  world,  and  ye  have 
loved  darkness  rather  than  light,  because  your  deeds 
were  evil."  God  will  appear  to  you  still  infinitely  glo- 
rious, though  he  condemns  you.  No  censure  will 
affix  itself  to  him.  No  charge  can  be  made  of  want 
of  mercy.  You  will  see,  that  all  which  could  be 
done,  has  been  done ;  and  that  the  only  reason  which 
can  account  for  your  destruction,  amidst  such  forbear- 
ance, is  the  perverseness  of  your  own  will. 

These  are  some  of  the  considerations  which  are 
calculated  to  make  the  judgment  of  the  day  of  God's 
coming,  entirely  intolerable  to  those  who  have  refused 
to  love  and  obey  God,  or  to  embrace  the  call  of  mercy 
which  has  been  given  them  in  the  Gospel,  according 
to  his  promise. 

And  now,  in  the  view  of  this  solemn  and  alarming 
day  of  the  coming  of  our  God,  I  intreat  you,  my 
friends,  to  look  at  the  character  of  your  own  lives, 
and  see  if  you  are  prepared  to  meet  your  God.  I 
have  before  me  many  upright,  and  kind,  and  excellent 
persons  in  the  intercourse  of  this  world,  whose  cha- 
racters are  in  many  respects,  just  objects  of  esteem 
and  love.  But  they  are  living  without  any  principle 
of  deep,  spiritual  piety ;  without  the  reconciliation  of 
their  hearts  to  God ;  and  without  any  hope  depending 
upon  his  favour.  I  would  not  class  such  valuable 
members  of  human  society,  altogether  with  the  out- 
cast profligates  who  roam  the  streets.  They  have 
their  reward  in  the  uniform  respect  of  mankind. 
But  can  I  comfort  them  with  any  prospect  of  blessed- 
ness hereafter  ?  Can  I  tell  them  they  are  safe,  when 
I  am  perfectly  convinced  that  they  are  not  safe? 
r2  9 


66  god's  message  to  Israel. 

They  will  acknowledge  themselves  to  be  without  a 
renewed  heart.  They  will  confess  that  they  have 
never  been  brought  to  make  the  surrender  of  their 
affections,  and  their  lives,  to  Christ.  And  yet  it  is 
upon  this  single  point,  that  all  the  promises  of  a 
future  life  are  rested.  "  Except  ye  be  converted,  ye 
cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  "Except 
a  man  be  born  again  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of 
God."  There  is  no  hope  of  future  blessedness 
offered  to  man,  but  in  connexion  with  this  plain  and 
indispensable  point.  To  such  of  my  hearers  would  I 
address  the  question,  with  the  faithful  spirit  of  kind- 
ness, "  are  you  prepared  to  meet  your  God?"  Could 
you  stand  this  day  before  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth, 
and  appeal  in  the  assurance  of  faith  to  himself,  and 
say,  "  thou  wast  made  sin  for  me,  when  thou  knewest 
no  sin,  that  I  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God 
in  thee ;  thou  wast  offered  to  me  in  the  gracious  pro- 
visions of  the  Gospel,  and  I  gladly  received  thee  to 
my  heart,  and  put  thee  on  as  wisdom,  righteousness, 
sanctification,  and  redemption  for  my  soul."  Could 
you  thus,  with  humble  confidence  claim  the  fulfilment 
of  his  promise  unto  you  ?  Could  you  look  upon  the 
face  of  Jesus,  as  a  friend,  for  whom  you  have  counted 
every  thing  else  but  loss,  and  say,  "  Lord,  thou 
knowest  all  things,  thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee; 
Lord,  I  believe,  help  thou  mine  unbelief?"  If  you 
have  no  such  connexion  with  the  Redeemer  of  sin- 
ners, then  how  are  you  prepared  to  meet  your  God? 
You  would  be  rejected  by  him.  You  would  be  cast 
away  from  his  presence.  The  kindness  for  which 
men  love  you ;  the  integrity  and  honourable  character 
for  which  they  respect  you,  have  not  been  acquired  or 


god's   message    to   ISRAEL.  67 

cultivated,  in  reference  to  him,  and  can  challenge  no 
acceptance  at  his  hand.  This  is  the  outward  appear- 
ance upon  which  men  look.  God  asks  for  the  devo- 
tion of  the  heart.  You  need  an  inward,  abiding  prin- 
ciple, of  love  to  God,  of  delight  in  his  character,  of 
subniissiou  to  his  will,  of  joy  in  his  perfections,  shed 
abroad  in  your  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  this 
alone,  which  will  enable  you  to  assure  your  hearts 
before  him,  and  give  you  boldness  in  his  presence. 
Without  this  spiritual  devotion  of  the  heart,  all  other 
attainments  will  be  of  no  avail.  Your  souls,  still  un- 
converted and  guilty,  will  be  lost  forever. 

You  think  it  hard,  that  there  should  be  no  perma- 
nent discrimination  made  between  your  characters, 
and  the  abandoned  portion  of  mankind.  You  deem 
it  harsh  and  cruel,  that  the  flames  of  hell  should  be 
threatened,  to  those  so  educated,  and  so  restrained, 
and  so  respected  as  you  have  been.  But  when  your 
consciences  acknowledge  that  you  are  not  prepared 
for  the  presence  of  God,  and  cannot,  therefore,  expect 
to  partake  of  the  rest  prepared  for  his  people,  what 
is  the  alternative  ?  Is  there  neutral  ground  between 
heaven  and  hell  ?  "  Know  ye  not  that  the  unright- 
eous shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God?"  that 
the  servant  who  did  not  his  lord's  will,  had  his  por- 
tion appointed  him  with  unbelievers?  What  then 
shall  I  say  to  you  in  this  dilemma  ?  Shall  I  tell  you 
that  you  are  righteous,  acceptable  to  God,  and  there- 
fore will  be  saved  as  you  are?  Your  own  hearts 
would  contradict  me  in  every  assertion,  for  you  are 
convinced  that  you  are  ncitlier.  Shall  I  tell  you  that 
you  are  unrighteous,  without  holiness,  and  therefore, 
cannot  see  the  Lord,  or  inherit  his  kingdom  ?     Here 


68  god's  message  to  Israel. 

your  feelings  revolt,  and  you  think  that  some  better 
place  than  hell,  might  have  been  provided  for  persons 
of  your  description.  My  friends,  God  has  provided 
some  better  place,  vv^hich  he  oifers  freely  to  your  pos- 
session and  enjoyment,  if  you  will  have .  it.  But  he 
offers  it,  as  he  must  offer  it,  in  his  own  way,  and  upon 
his  own  terms.  And  if  you  would  attain  his  promises, 
you  must  enter  in  by  the  door  which  he  has  opened. 

Now  it  is  not  your  outward  morality,  or  immorality, 
which  affects  this  question.  It  is  your  simple  rejec- 
tion of  salvation  when  it  is  freely  offered  to  you, 
which  rejection  leaves  you  in  your  own  condition,  to 
perish.  God  proposes  to  save  you,  and  you  refuse. 
He  intreats  you  to  be  wise ;  and  you  refuse  still. 
What  then  is  to  be  done  ?  The  alternative  is,  that 
you  are  lost.  You  cannot  escape,  if  you  neglect  so 
great  salvation.  You  take  a  mendicant  from  the 
street,  and  bring  him  to  your  house,  and  make  him 
your  son  ;  he  is  ungrateful  and  disobedient ;  you  still 
forbear  with  him ;  he  leaves  you  with  contempt ;  you 
go  for  him,  and  bring  him  back ;  he  pursues  again  the 
same  course ;  this  round  of  kindness  and  ingratitude 
is  gone  through  again  and  again.  At  last,  wearied 
with  his  perverseness,  you  leave  him  to  his  own 
course,  and  try  to  forget  him.  Would  others  be  most 
likely  to  speak  of  you,  and  would  you  be  most  likely 
to  think  of  yourself,  as  unjust  in  leaving  one  who  had 
rejected  all  your  kindness,  or  as  forbearing  and  liberal 
in  doing  so  much  for  one,  for  Avhom  you  were  under 
no  obligation  to  do  any  thing  ?  And  would  it  be  your 
cruelty,  or  his  perverseness,  which  must  be  alleged 
as  the  proper  ground  of  responsibility,  for  his  fmal 
poverty  and  sufferings  ?     Transfer  this  illustration  to 


god's   message    to    ISRAEL.  69 

yourselves,  and  you  are  condemned  out  of  your  own 
mouth.  God  requires  from  you  a  certain  Avell-defined 
submission,  as  a  preparation  for  the  day  of  his  coming. 
He  gives  you  the  abihty  to  be  prepared,  according  to 
his  will.  But  rejecting  his  grace,  as  offered  in  Jesus 
Christ,  he  can  offer  you  no  other  way  of  deliverance. 
In  the  strong  expression  of  the  poet, 

"  You  read  your  sentence  at  the  flames  of  hell ;" 

or  in  the  stronger  language  of  the  Scripture,  "he 
that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned."  "The  wicked 
shall  be  turned  into  hell,  and  all  the  people  that  forget 
God." 

Let  me  then,  earnestly  press  upon  your  notice,  this 
message  upon  which  we  have  dv/elt  so  long. — "  Pre- 
pare to  meet  thy  God,  O  Israel."  Whatever  be  the 
outward  habits  of  your  lives,  whatever  be  the  opinions 
which  men  entertain  of  your  characters,  without  the 
power  of  godliness  in  your  souls  renewed  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  you  are  weighed  in  the  balance,  and  are  found 
wanting.  Acquire  then,  this  spirit  of  true  religion. 
Awake  to  the  importance  of  your  future  prospects. 
Consider  the  value  of  your  eternal  interests.  Esteem 
it  no  weakness  to  acknowledge  that  you  have  precious 
souls  which  must  be  saved,  and  that  every  thing  else 
is  for  you  of  small  importance,  when  compared  with 
them.  If  ardent,  spiritual  religion  be  enthusiasm, 
fanaticism,  may  God  be  pleased  to  send  such  fanati- 
cism abundantly  into  his  church  !  If  it  be  rude  and 
vulgar,  to  call  upon  men  as  helpless,  miserable,  ruined 
sinners,  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  to  turn  unto 
God  and  live,  may  God  grant  such  a  vulgar  spirit  to 
all  who  profess  to  be  his  ministers.     We  are  not  of 


70  god's  message  to  Israel. 

those  who  deem  it  shocking  to  mention  hell  to  ears 
polite.  Beloved,  the  solemn  question  is  before  you, 
and  must  be  answered  by  you,  "  who  shall  dwell  with 
the  devouring  fire  ?  Who  shall  dwell  with  the  ever- 
lasting burnings  ?"  Every  soul  here  present  that  is 
not  bound  to  Jesus  Christ  by  a  living,  lasting  faith,  is 
without  hope,  under  the  wrath  of  God,  condemned 
already,  and  cannot  escape  the  damnation  of  hell. 
Turn  unto  him,  and  be  ye  saved.  Acquaint  your- 
selves with  him,  and  be  at  peace.  You  cannot  stand 
before  God,  unwashed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  un- 
renewed by  the  power  of  the  Spirit.  Your  weight 
of  guilt  will  sink  you  into  eternal  condemnation.  0, 
then,  I  beseech  you,  prepare,  by  embracing  the  hope 
which  Jesus  offers  you,  to  meet  your  God,  and  to  re- 
ceive that  recompense  of  reward  which  he  brings  to 
those  who  wait  for  him. 


V. 


THE    NEW    CREATURE. 


2  Corinthians  v.  17. — Therefore,  if  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  ts  a 
new  creature;  old  things  are  passed  away ;  behold,  all  things  are 
become  new. 

The  Apostle  lays  this  down,  not  as  a  transitory 
precept,  but  as  a  rule  of  universal  application,  and 
which  is  to  be  made  the  standard  of  genuine  Chris- 
tianity, to  the  end  of  the  world. 

To  be  in  Christ,  is  to  be  united  unto  him  by  the 
power  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  in  a  living,  active  faith.  It 
is  to  be  connected  with  him  as  the  branch  is  con- 
nected with  the  vine,  or  as  the  members  of  a  living 
body  are  joined  to  their  head.  It  is  to  be  made,  in 
this  uninterrupted  communication,  a  partaker  of  his 
fulness,  and  to  receive  from  him  grace  for  grace.  To 
be  in  Christ,  is  to  be  a  Christian,  not  in  name  only, 
but  in  deed  and  in  truth.  It  is  to  have  Jesus  Christ 
dwelling  in  our  hearts  by  faith,  as  our  hope  of  glory ; 
and  to  abide  with  love  and  confidence  in  him,  as  the 
only  source  of  happiness  or  peace.  To  be  in  Christ, 
is  to  be  delivered  from  all  condemnation  and  fear. 
"  There  is  no  condemnation  to  them  who  are  in  Christ 

71 


7S  THE    NEW   CREATURE. 

Jesus."  It  is  to  be  secure  under  his  protection,  safe 
in  his  righteousness,  and  able  to  answer  and  con- 
found every  tongue  that  riseth  in  judgment  against 
the  soul.  "  This  is  the  heritage  of  the  servants  of 
the  Lord,  and  their  righteousness  is  of  me,  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts."  To  be  in  Christ,  is  to  be  in  the  en- 
joyment of  every  blessing,  and  in  the  possession  of 
every  privilege  and  joy.  ''  All  things  are  yours,  and 
ye  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's."  Li  this  rela- 
tive gradation,  the  omnipotence  of  Jehovah  is  secured 
to  the  weakest  believer  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  because  he 
is  Christ's.  All  things  w^ork  together  for  his  good. 
There  cannot  be  a  conceivable  comfort  which  will 
not  arise  to  the  man  who  is  in  Christ,  from  this  con- 
nexion, while  all  power  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  is 
given  unto  him,  and  he  gives  his  heavenly  blessings 
to  whomsoever  he  will.  To  be  in  Christ,  implies 
that  w^e  have  come  unto  him,  from  our  native  rebel- 
lion ;  that  we  have  yielded  to  his  authority,  chosen 
his  salvation,  are  confiding  in  his  atonement  and 
righteousness,  and  submitting  ourselves  completely 
and  forever  to  his  will.  The  man  who  is  in  Christ, 
has  been  led  to  his  feet,  in  the  voluntary  and  thankful 
conversion  of  his  heart,  with  a  contrite  and  believing 
spirit,  and  has  found  in  the  acceptance  of  his  redemp- 
tion, peace  and  blessedness.  He  has  been  brought 
from  darkness  into  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan 
unto  God,  and  is  walking  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  in 
the  comfort  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  a  new,  and  holy, 
and  obedient  life. 

Such  are  the  privileges  of  being  in  Christ.  If  any 
man  then,  our  text  declares,  would  be  united  to  Christ 
in  a  living  faith ;  would  be  a  Christian,  not  in  name 


THE    NEW    CREATURE.  73 

merely,  but  in  the  real  experience  of  his  heart ;  would 
be  delivered  from  all  condemnation,  and  be  in  the 
possession  of  every  blessing,  he  must  be  a  new  crea- 
ture, old  things  must  pass  away,  and  all  things  must 
become  new.  If  any  man  has  already  attained  these 
privileges,  and  is  living  now  in  their  assured  and  con- 
scious possession,  he  is  a  new  creature,  old  things  have 
passed  away,  and  all  things  have  become  new.  The 
assertion  of  the  text  thus  considered,  presents  itself, 

I.  As    A    REQUISITION    UPON    THE    SINNER;    and 

II.  As   A    PRIVILEGE    TO    THE    CHRISTIAN. 

We  will  consider  these  two,  in  their  order.  Our 
text  is  to  be  viewed, 

I.    As   A  REQUISITION   UPON   THE   SINNER. "  If  any 

man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature."  That  is, 
nothing  short  of  a  new  creation  can  constitute  any 
man  a  Christian.  The  extent  of  this  requisition  is 
described,  both  in  its  application  to  individuals,  and 
to  personal  character  in  each  individual.  Under  the 
former  application,  it  refers  to  all  men,  without  the 
exception  of  any.  Under  the  latter,  it  requires  in 
every  one,  the  same  work,  v/hich  is  a  new  creation. 

1.  If  we  consider  the  extent  of  the  requisition,  as 
applied  to  individuals,  the  emphasis  rests  upon  the 
word  "  any."  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new 
creature."  It  matters  not  who  he  may  be,  or  what 
the  relative  and  changing  circumstances  of  his  life. 
The  assertion  supposes  only  that  he  is  a  man,  one  of 
the  human  family.  Whatever  may  be  his  character, 
or  reputation,  or  privileges,  no  stress  is  laid  upon,  no 
reference  is  to  be  had,  to  either.  If  he  would  be  in 
Christ,  if  he  would  be  a  Christian,  he  must  be  a  new 
creature. 

G  10 


74  THE    NEW    CREATURE. 

The  Apostle  previously  allows  of  himself,  that  there 
was  a  time  wlieii  he  "knew  both  Christ  and  men  after 
the  flcsii;"  that  is,  he  judged  them  altogether  upon  a 
worldly  and  personal  calculation.  He  thought  of 
Christ  with  opposition  and  contempt;  and  he  thought 
of  men,  with  respect  for  the  pretensions  which  they 
set  up.  So  the  llesh  had  taught  him.  He  imagined 
that  there  were  great  ditfcrences  of  character  anions: 
men  ;  he  thought  mucli  better  of  some  than  of 
others ;  he  respected  the  claims  for  merit  which  they 
asserted.  But  the  true  knowledge  of  Clirist,  and  the 
experience  of  his  new  creating  power,  had  overthrown 
this  false  system  of  determination.  Henceforth,  he 
could  know  no  man,  and  estimate  no  character,  ac- 
cording to  this  standard.  The  Spirit  of  God  had 
taught  him  better.  A  new  view  had  been  given  to 
him  of  his  own  real  character,  and  of  the  universal 
character  of  unrenewed  men.  The  conclusion  which 
he  had  derived  from  the  information  which  he  had 
thus  received,  this  light  which  had  been  bestowed 
upon  him  from  heaven,  he  gives  us  in  our  present  text. 
Here,  he  overturns  all  those  folse  assumptions  in 
which  proud  and  ignorant  men  indulge,  and  proclaims 
that  doctrine,  which  to  those  who  receive  not,  and  love 
not  the  truth,  is  so  deeply  repulsive  and  hateful.  It 
is  the  doctrine  which  declares,  that  in  the  natural  re- 
lation in  which  sinful  men  stand  to  God,  against  whom 
they  have  rebelled,  there  is  no  dilference  among  them; 
for  "  all  have  sinned,  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of 
God,"  "  every  mouth  is  stopped,  and  the  whole 
world  is  counted  guilty  before  God ;"  that  there  is 
but  one  "  name  under  heaven  given  among  men, 
whereby  they  can  be  saved;"  and  that  no  man  can 


THE    NEW    CREATUHE.  75 

become  interested  in  this  name,  or  be  found  in  Christ 
Jesus,  unless  he  be  a  new  creature. 

The  Gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  in  making  the 
claim  upon  the  heart  of  man,  which  accompanies  its 
offer  of  mercy,  refers  to  the  universal  fact  of  the 
enmity  of  this  heart  to  God,  and  it  refers  to  this  fact 
alone.  It  stops  not  to  ask  whether  the  man  be  a  Jew 
or  a  Greek,  moral  or  profligate,  wise  or  ignorant, 
bond  or  free.  It  has  but  one  requisition  to  make, 
which  must  be  equally  insisted  upon  every  where.  He 
must  be  born  again.  Old  things  must  pass  away. 
They  cannot  be  repaired  or  improved,  so  that  God 
will  accept  them.     All  things  must  become  new. 

No  natural  difference  in  the  human  character  has 
the  least  connexion  with  that  grace  by  which  we  are 
saved ;  or  any  influence  upon  the  relation  in  which 
man,  as  a  sinner,  stands  to  God.  Temper,  amiable, 
or  unamiable,  forms  no  more  ground  for  difference  of 
claim  for  merit  in  the  sight  of  God,  than  a  counte- 
nance beautiful  or  repulsive,  or  an  intellect  cultivated 
or  darkened.  Without  respect  to  any  attainments  of 
men  in  their  natural  character,  and  while  unreconciled 
to  God,  we  have  but  one  grand  message  to  deliver  to 
all  without  exception.  It  is,  that  they  "  repent  and 
be  converted,  that  their  sins  may  be  blotted  out,  when 
the  day  of  refreshing  shall  come  from  the  presence  of 
the  Lord." 

Every  unconverted  man,  whether  baptized  or  un- 
baptized,  whether  a  nominal  Christian,  or  a  professed 
Mohammedan  or  Pagan,  is  proclaimed  in  the  divine 
word,  to  be  by  wicked  works,  an  enemy  to  God, 
alienated  from  his  favour  and  presence,  and  a  rebel 


76  THE    NEW    CREATURE.    , 

against  all  his  purposes  and  commands.  A  desire  to 
glorify  God,  does  not  influence  one  of  his  actions. 
His  motives  arise  from  himself;  and  his  whole  object 
in  life,  is  either  immediately  or  remotely,  to  promote 
his  own  advantage.  Whether  he  pursue  his  favoured, 
chosen  object,  in  a  course  of  integrity  and  upright 
dealing;  or  whether  he  attempt  to  secure  it  in  a 
shorter  method,  by  violence  or  fraud ;  it  is  the  single 
principle  of  selfish  interest,  and  the  single  desire  for 
personal  gain,  which  excites  him  to  diligence.  If  one 
course  were  as  honourable  in  society  as  the  other, 
and  it  would  be  so,  but  for  the  blessed  influence  of 
that  very  Gospel,  which  sinful  man  despises,  the  only 
determining  motive  for  the  conduct  of  unconverted 
men,  would  be  the  likelihood  of  gain.  And  God  may 
say  to  the  most  high-minded  and  unblemished  man, 
whose  heart  is  still  unreconciled  to  him,  of  his  highest, 
and  purest,  and  best  actions,  "  hast  thou  done  these 
things  at  all  unto  me?" 

The  grand  characteristic  of  unconverted  men,  is 
that  "  God  is  not  in  all  their  thoughts."  He  makes 
no  part  of  their  plan  or  object.  "  According  to  the 
flesh,"  in  the  expression  of  St.  Paul,  that  is,  judged 
by  a  merely  human  standard,  there  may  be  vast  dif- 
ferences of  character  among  them.  But  according  to 
the  standard  of  the  Bible,  where  men  are  known  only 
in  their  relation  to  God,  there  are  none.  Examined 
by  the  commands  of  the  divine  law,  the  whole  world 
will  come  under  the  condemnation  of  God.  Judged 
according  to  the  offers  of  the  Gospel,  all  who  accept 
them  not,  are  equally  condemned.  The  wrath  of 
God  abideth  on  every  one  that  believeth  not  in  the 


THE    NEW   CREATURE.  77 

name  of  his  only  begotten  Son.  None  do  or  can  be- 
lieve in  him,  who  are  not  born  again,  not  of  the  will 
of  the  flesh,  but  of  God. 

This  is  the  extent  of  the  requisition  of  our  text, 
as  it  is  applied  to  individuals.  It  belongs  to  all  men 
witliout  exception.  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is 
a  new  creature."  No  man  can  become  a  Christian 
in  any  other  method.  "  Except  a  man  be  born  again, 
he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 

2.  The  requisition  of  the  text  may  be  considered 
in  its  application  to  character  in  each  individual. 
Here  the  emphasis  is  on  the  words  new  creature. 
The  text  declares,  that  while  for  all  men  some  change 
of  character  is  necessary,  that  change  can  be  no  less 
in  any  case,  than  a  new  creation. 

The  question  which  is  agitated  among  men  upon 
this  subject,  is  not  so  much  about  the  necessity  of 
some  renovation  in  the  human  character,  as  a  prepa- 
ration for  the  eternal  blessedness  promised  in  the 
Gospel,  as  about  the  extent  of  this  demand.  It  is 
not,  whether  any  change  at  all  be  necessary,  but  what 
that  change  shall  be.  There  is  not  a  man  living,  who 
feels  himself  absolutely  fit  and  competent  to  appear 
.n  judgment  before  a  heart-searching  God.  All  see 
much  deficiency  in  themselves  which  must  be  sup- 
plied, and  much  error  which  must  be  amended  ;  and 
therefore,  all  acknowledge,  that  there  must  be  some 
renewal  in  the  character  of  all,  before  they  can  see 
the  face  of  God,  and  live. 

But  then   the  question   is   immediately  proposed, 

'  what  must  be  done  ?'     We  answer  in  conformity  to 

the  word  of  God,  that  there  must  be  in  every  man 

living,  a  new  birth,  a  spiritual  conversion,  a  renewal 

g2 


78  THE    NEW    CREATURE. 

of  the  mind  and  heart,  before  he  can  enjoy  the  hope 
which  the  Gospel  gives.  In  Christ  Jesus,  in  whom 
alone  man  is  safe,  nothing  availeth,  but  a  new 
creation. 

The  object  to  be  obtained,  the  end  professedly  in 
view,  marks  this  necessity  for  a  new  creation.  This 
object  is  not,  to  be  in  the  church.  That  may  easily 
be  secured  by  a  conformity  to  appointed  outward  or- 
dinances. It  is  not  be  upright  and  reformed  in  ex- 
ternal conduct  merely.  This  may  be  accomplished 
by  man's  own  determination  and  exertions.  It  is  not 
to  obtain  a  good  reputation  among  men.  That  may 
be  acquired  by  due  attention  to  the  outward  relative 
character,  of  which  alone  man  can  judge.  But  it  is 
to  be  in  Christ;  to  have  a  spiritual  and  unchangeable 
union  with  him ;  and  to  be  made  with  him,  a  joint 
heir  of  everlasting  glory.  This  object  no  partial 
change  of  character  can  secure.  The  natural  man 
cannot  enjoy,  any  more  than  he  can  understand,  the 
things  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  blessings  which 
are  promised  in  Christ  Jesus,  are  altogether  spiritual 
blessings ;  and  the  preparation  of  character,  which 
shall  enable  us  to  possess  and  enjoy  them,  must  be 
spiritual  also.  To  attain  this  important  end,  nothing 
which  is  merely  outward  is  of  any  avail ;  nay,  every 
thing  outward  is  worse  than  unavailing,  if  it  be  put 
in  the  place  of  this  grand  point  of  Gospel  requisi- 
tion, the  renewal  of  the  soul  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  after 
the  image  of  God.  God  alone  reveals  the  things 
which  he  has  provided  for  them  that  love  him ;  and 
he  alone  can  make  the  way  plain  and  open,  in  which 
they  are  to  be  obtained.  If  these  unspeakable  bless- 
ings are  our  object;  if  it  is  our  wish  to  be  in  Christ, 


THE    NEW    CREATURE.  79 

when  God  maketli  inquisition  for  sin ;  the  holy  Scrip- 
ture gives  us  both  its  commands  and  promises,  lead- 
ing us  to  seek  for  a  new  heart,  and  to  desire  to  have 
a  right  spirit  formed  within  us.  "  They  that  are  in 
the  flesh  cannot  please  God." 

This  new  creation  of  the  heart,  we  are  commanded 
everywhere  to  require.  In  our  demands  upon  men 
as  the  ministers  of  Christ,  we  dwell  upon  this  alone. 
The  propriety  of  our  unceasing  urging  of  this,  as  uni- 
versally necessary,  is  farther  manifest  from  the  fact, 
that  generally  speaking,  we  have  but  comparatively  few 
charges  to  make  against  the  outward  conduct  of  men. 
Such  is  the  extended  influence  of  the  religion  of 
Jesus,  and  such  is  the  power  which  its  reflected  light 
exercises,  to  purify  and  restrain  the  character  of  hu- 
man society,  even  among  those  who  deny  its  actual 
claims  upon  the  heart,  that  the  greater  portion  of 
those  to  whom  the  Gospel  is  here  offered,  are  exter- 
nally respectable  and  correct.  It  is  not,  therefore, 
to  the  outward  deficiencies  or  transgressions  of  men, 
that  our  attention  is  particularly  called.  Tliere  are 
many  of  you,  my  friends,  without  love  to  God,  and 
by  your  own  acknowledgment,  without  the  spiritual 
submission  of  your  hearts  to  Christ,  who  are  still  in 
external  deportment  correct,  perhaps  exemplary.  And 
there  would  be  no  essential  change  in  your  discharge 
of  relative  and  domestic  duties,  or  in  the  falfilment 
of  the  business  of  your  various  stations,  except  that 
the  sweet  influence  of  true  piety  would  be  tlirown 
over  the  whole,  and  you  would  do  all  for  Christ,  if 
you  should  become  in  the  Gospel  method,  the  true 
followers  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

This  is  not  only  true  in  moral  deportment.  In  the  ser- 


80  THE    NEW    CREATURE. 

vices  of  religious  worship  also,  many  unconverted  men 
are  found  exceedingly  precise,  and  strict,  and  regular. 
None  were  more  so  than  the  Pharisees  of  old,  who 
attempted  thus  to  work  out  a  righteousness  for  them- 
selves, while  they  were  hateful  and  abhorrent  to  God 
for  their  sins,  and  assumed  upon  themselves,  the  curse 
of  a  rejected  Saviour.  Like  them,  there  are  many  in 
our  day,  who  have  no  knowledge  of  vital  religion,  the 
religion  of  the  heart,  nay,  who  even  deride  and  op 
pose  it,  who  are  still,  quite  marked  in  their  attention 
to  the  outward  services  of  religion,  and  in  their  con- 
formity to  modes  of  worship. 

Now,  in  all  these  cases,  the  difficulty  which  sepa- 
rates such  persons  from  God,  and  from  all  hope  in 
him,  is  not  an  external  one.  It  is  a  radical  perver- 
sion of  motive  and  principle.  They  are  doing  nothing 
for  the  Lord.  The  change  which  is  required  for  them 
is  not  a  mere  change  of  outward  character.  It  is  a 
change  of  the  heart,  a  new  creation  of  the  soul  in  its 
principles  and  objects  of  pursuit.  They  are  without 
Christ ;  and  they  are  perishing  in  their  sins,  although 
they  are  moral  in  deportment,  and  strict  in  ceremony. 
No  mere  external  demand  or  precept  will  reach  their 
case.  They  have  but  one  simple  want.  But  that 
want  is  a  total  one.  They  must  be  new  men.  They 
need  to  be  in  Christ ;  and  to  be  in  him,  thc}^  must  be 
begotten  again,  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to 
the  enjoyment  of  the  lively  and  glorious  hope  whicli 
he  bestows.  To  do  them  good,  this  necessity  must 
be  exhibited.  They  must  see  how  entirely  defective 
are  their  best  services.  The  solemn  and  unrelaxing 
demands  of  Almighty  God,  for  inward  purity,  for 
spiritual  cleanness,  must  be  pressed  upon  their  con- 


THE    NEW    CREATURE.  81 

sciences  with  power  from  on  high.  For  them  every 
thing  is  unavaihng,  but  that  whick  can  be  made  the 
instrument  of  converting  their  souls  to  God,  and 
making  them  hke  httle  children  before  him.  This 
they  must  be  made  to  feel,  or  they  perish  without 
hope. 

Again,  we  are  at  all  times  to  insist  upon  this  new 
creation  of  the  soul,  because  all  demands  for  mere 
outward  changes  of  conduct  are  so  limited  and  par- 
tial in  their  appHcation.  There  is  no  one  external 
reproof  or  requirement,  which  can  be  enforced  with 
an  universal  apphcation.  This  constitutes  the  utter 
inefficacy  of  all  that  may  be  termed  mere  moral 
preaching.  Let  our  attention  be  directed  to  whatever 
partial  change  of  character  it  may,  we  cannot  call 
upon  all  men  with  it.  Some  on  the  one  side,  and 
some  on  the  other,  are  found  beyond  its  reach.  No 
external  characteristic  of  immorality,  is  to  be  found 
in  all  men.  All  are  not  Sabbath  breakers,  or  drunk- 
ards, or  thieves.  If  we  admonish  for  a  particular 
transgression,  there  are  some  whose  consciences  do 
not  acknowledge  the  reproof.  If  we  exhort  to  a  par- 
ticular duty,  there  are  others  who  are  ready  to  thank 
God,  that  they  have  never  failed  in  its  performance. 
These  varieties  in  the  outward  characters  of  men,  are 
quite  innumerable.  But  in  the  dispositions  and  pur- 
poses of  the  natural  heart  towards  God,  there  is  no 
difference.  All  men  in  their  own  nature  are  without 
love  to  God,  without  a  desire  for  a  Saviour,  without 
a  purpose  or  wish  to  glorify  him.  Here  is  a  cha- 
racteristic which  is  absolutely  universal.  The  Gospel 
therefore,  settles  its  grand  requisition,  upon  that  which 
is  the  universal  deficiency.     Man  looketh  upon  the 

II 


8©  THE    NEW    CREATURE. 

outward  appearance,  and  supposes  that  a  partial  re- 
formation will   supply  every  want,  and   answer  the 
whole  necessity.     God  looketh  upon  the  heart,  and 
proclaims  that  to  be  full  of  evil.     He  calls,  therefore, 
for  the  cleansing,  and  the  submission  of  that;  and 
directs  the  exertions  of  all  to  make  the  tree  good, 
that  its  fruit  may  be  good  also.     The  Gospel  in  its 
solemn  requisition  upon  the  unrenewed  sinner,  stops 
not   to   enjoin   one   particular  duty  or   another.     It 
fastens  its  hold  simply  and  wholly  upon  his  alienated 
heart,  and  demands  the  entire  and  cheerful  submission 
of  that  to  God.     The  simple  fact  of  danger  and  guilt 
which  it  announces  to  him,  is  "  thou  hast  neither  part 
nor  lot  in  this  matter,  for  thy  heart  is  not  right  in  the 
sight  of  G  od ;  thou  art  in  the  gall  of  bitterness,  and 
in  the  bond  of  iniquity."     Revealing  to  him  this  one 
fact  beyond  dispute,  it  insists  upon  his  gaining  a  new 
heart,  and  having  a  right  spirit  renewed  within  him, 
and  putting  on  the  new  man,  that  he  may  be  found  in 
Christ  Jesus,  and  be  justified  freely  through  him. 

This  is  the  extent  of  the  requisition  of  the  text,  as 
it  is  applied  to  personal  character  in  each  individual. 
There  must  be  in  every  sinner,  a  total  change  of 
motive  and  principle,  before  he  can  find  acceptance 
with  the  Lord.     His  spirit  of  rebellion  and  personal" 
independence   must  pass   away;   and   the   spirit   of 
entire  submission  to  God,  and  of  full  delight  in  his 
perfections,  and  his  glory,  must  assume  the  place  of  it. 
The   transforming   influence    of    true   religion   must 
govern  every  principle  of  the  character,  and  every 
motive  of  the  conduct.     The   sinner  is   pursuing   a 
road   entirely  WTong,   and  utterly   ruinous.     He   is 
without  the  least  conformity  of  his  character,  to  the 


THE    NEW   CREATURE.  83 

will  of  a  holy  God.  The  revolution  in  his  character 
must  therefore,  bo  an  entire  one,  before  he  can  be 
safe  in  the  prospect  of  eternity.  Inferior  purposes 
may  be  obtained  by  partial  alterations.  But  if  you 
would  be  found  in  Christ,  clothed  with  his  righteous- 
ness, and  purified  in  his  blood ;  if  you  would  be  made 
partakers  of  his  unfading  and  eternal  inheritance ;  this 
is  to  be  accomplished  solely  in  the  immediate  and 
entire  conversion  of  your  souls  to  him,  "  If  any  man 
be  in  Christ  he  is  a  new  creature." 

3.  Asa  proper  improvement  of  this  subject,  I  pray 
you,  my  brethren,  to  bring  your  attention  simply  and 
fairly  to  the  point  which  has  been  placed  before  you. 
You  cannot  set  it  aside.     You  cannot  get  by  it.    The 
solemn  requisition  of  the  text  stands  directly  across 
your  path.     It  is  there  immoveably  fixed  before  you, 
and  by  it  alone  will  your  characters  be  tried,  and  your 
eternity  be  determined,  at  the  last.     All  the  glories 
of  the  Gospel  are  offered  for  your  attainment.     But 
it  is  only  in  the  acceptance  of  this,  its  first  privilege, 
that  the  succeeding  ones  can  be  enjoyed.     The  city 
of  the  living  God  offers  you  an  abundant  and  ever- 
lasting shelter.     But  upon  its  very  gate  is  written, 
"  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God."     It  is  vain  and  useless  to  plead 
the  possession  of  any  other  qualification,  while  this 
is  wanting.     All  allegations  of  amiableness  of  temper, 
of  a  restrained  and  well-regulated  course  of  life,  of 
habits  of  integrity,  of  civil,  harmless,  or  affectionate 
deportment,  of  benevolent  exertions  for  the  good  of 
mankind,  are  answered  immediately,  by  a  repetition 
of  the  same  testimony,  "  except  a  man  be  born  again, 
he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 


84  THE    NEW    CREATURE. 

My  friends,  you  may  excuse  yourselves  as  you  will 
upon  the  ground  of  education  or  personal  conduct, 
but  you  will  be  brought  to  this  standard  for  trial,  as 
your  final  test.  You  may  foolishly  postpone  from 
year  to  year,  all  concern  about  it,  and  refuse  to  sub- 
mit to  the  requisition  which  it  lays  upon  you,  but  all 
your  efforts  will  only  serve  to  increase  your  difficul- 
ties and  your  condemnation.  You  will  find  it  made 
at  last,  the  alternative  to  eternal  ruin.  You  must 
become  converted  unto  God,  renewed  in  the  spirit  of 
your  mind,  made  new  creatures  in  Christ  Jesus,  or 
your  souls  are  lost. 

If  this  be  truth,  why  should  you  not  yield  at  once 
to  the  new  creating  power  of  God's  waiting  Spirit? 
What  can  you  gain  by  refusing  to  submit  to  the  Re- 
deemer of  men?  His  terms  will  not  be  relaxed. 
What  he  now  offers  to  you  freely,  you  may  hereafter 
ask  for  in  vain.  You  may  now  yield  yourselves  to 
him,  and  find  peace  in  believing  in  him.  You  may 
become  vessels  of  his  mercy,  and  experience  the  com- 
forts and  benefits  which  will  flow  from  this  delightful 
privilege.  But  carelessness  of  future  responsibility, 
or  a  procrastinating  spirit,  or  a  love  of  the  pleasures 
of  sin  for  a  season,  leading  you  to  a  rejection  of  the 
Saviour  and  his  Spirit,  will  certainly  shut  out  your 
souls  forever  from  the  hope  and  the  opportunity  of 
eternal  life ;  and  you  will  find  youxselves  in  the  end, 
rejected  and  renounced  by  the  Saviour,  by  whose 
name  you  are  called,  as  those  whom  he  never  knew, 
and  who  are  cursed  forever  under  the  burden  of  un- 
pardoned sin. 


VI. 


THE    NEW    CREATURE. 


2  Corinthians  v.  17. — Therefore,  if  any  man  he  in  Christ,  he  is  a 
new  creature ;  old  things  are  passed  away ;  behold,  all  things  are 
become  new. 


This  assertion  may  be  considered,  either  as  pro- 
spective, declaring  what  is  necessary  for  him  who 
would  obtain  the  character  and  privileges  of  a  Chris- 
tian ;  or  as  retrospective,  announcing  what  has  been 
already  accomplished  in  those  who  have  experienced 
the  change  of  character  and  condition  which  it  de- 
scribes. Under  the  first  of  these  forms,  as  a  solemn 
requisition  upon  the  unconverted  sinner,  I  have 
already  spoken  of  it.  My  present  object  is  to  speak 
of  it  under  the  second,  as  a  delightful  privilege  to  the 
tenewed  Christian.  Considered  under  this  aspect, 
the  text  declares  a  fact  of  immense  moment  to  those 
of  whom  the  declaration  may  be  truly  made,  and  con- 
taining advantages  which  are  unspeakably  important 
and  precious.  This  fact  is  the  thorough  and  perma- 
nent renovation  of  character  in  all  those  who  are  in 
Christ ;  in  all  the  people  of  God. 

"If  any  man  be  in  Christ,"  if  any  man  under  the 
H  85 


86  THE    NEW   CREATURE. 

blessed  influence  of  the  Gospel,  has  accepted  the  offer 
of  divine  acceptance,  and  become  really  a  Christian, 
"he  is  a  new  creature."  He  is  so  now;  this  is  his 
present  condition,  his  blessed  and  unchangeable  pri- 
vilege. "  Old  tilings  are  passed  away,  behold  all 
things  are  become  new."  The  point  which  is  to  be 
settled  is,  is  any  man  in  Christ  ?  To  decide  this,  the 
text  announces  that,  which  if  he  be  so,  is  at  once  his 
evidence  and  his  privilege.  He  is  a  new  creature. 
There  has  been  accomplished  in  him,  by  divine  power, 
a  new  creation.  He  is  a  new  man.  And  as  such,  he 
may  be  easily  examined,  and  must  be  readily  known. 
In  the  character  which  he  now  bears,  and  in  which 
he  appears  both  to  the  divine  and  human  inspection, 
there  is  decision  and  permanency.  Mere  changes  in 
the  outward  conduct  of  man,  like  the  change  of  his 
garments,  may  in  some  degree  alter  his  appearance  to 
others ;  but  they  leave  the  man  himself,  in  reality,  just 
what  he  was  before.  He  has  partially  assumed  a  new 
aspect  and  attitude,  to  those  who  can  see  only  the  ex- 
terior, but  his  heart  and  principles  are  left  altogether 
unchanged  and  unaffected.  The  bringing  of  the  same 
man  to  Christ,  and  uniting  him  to  Christ,  by  the 
power  of  the  divine  Spirit,  effects  within  him  a  total 
change  and  revolution  of  motive  and  principle.  This 
makes  him  another  man.  It  puts  another  heart  within 
him.  It  sets  him  out  in  a  progress  of  character,  di- 
rectly opposite  to  that  which  he  has  pursued  before ; 
a  progress  in  which  there  shall  be  no  return ;  but  in 
which  he  shall  be  kept  by  the  power  of  God,  through 
faith  unto  salvation.  This  is  the  view  which  is  given 
us  in  our  present  text.  The  man  who  is  now  in 
Christ,  has  passed  through  this  important  requisition ; 


THE    NEW    CREATURE.  87 

has  undergone  the  change  which  is  declared  to  be 
thus  indispensable ;  and  is  enjoying  the  peculiar  com- 
forts which  this  new  creation  is  designed  to  commu- 
nicate. Under  this  application  I  would  now  present 
the  text  for  your  consideration.  It  exhibits  the  pri- 
vilege of  the  Christian;  the  actual  and  assured  con- 
dition of  the  true  follower  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
For  him  ''  old  things  arc  passed  away,  behold  au 
things  are  become  new." 

The  application  of  this  text  is  confined,  by  some, 
whose  views  of  religion  are  far  too  low,  and  too  loose, 
for  us  to  copy,  to  those  Gentiles  who  were  brought  into 
the  Christian  church,  immediately  from  heathen  idola- 
try. It  was  certainly  true  in  reference  to  such ;  but  upon 
no  ground  which  was  peculiar  to  themselves.  When 
the  blinded  mind  of  man  is  enlightened  by  the  Spirit 
of  God,  and  the  heart  which  has  loved  the  creature 
more  than  the  Creator,  is  changed  and  renewed  by 
his  powder,  the  very  same  work  is  accomplished,  and 
by  the  same  power,  and  to  the  production  of  the  same 
effects,  in  every  age,  and  in  every  portion  of  the 
world.  All  the  descriptions  of  man's  natural  cha- 
racter in  the  word  of  God,  precisely  meet  the  expe- 
rience of  man,  in  the  most  refined  state  of  human 
society ;  and  all  the  exhibitions  of  his  renewed  state, 
are  entirely  accordant  with  what  every  Christian 
throughout  the  world,  finds  to  be  the  operation  of 
divine  grace  upon  himself  The  text  will  be  found, 
therefore,  to  be  universally  applicable.  And  as  it 
proclaims  without  exception,  when  it  comes  as  a  re- 
quisition, if  any  man  would  be  in  Chris  i,,  he  must  be 
a  new  creature ;  so  it  announces  in  an  expression 
equally  unlimited,  when  it  comes  as  a  privilege,  if  any 


88  THE    NEW    CREATURE. 

man  be  in  C  ist,  he  is  a  new  creature,  old  things  are 
passed  away,  behold  all  things  are  become  new. 

II.  This  PRIVILEGE  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN,  we  pro- 
ceed to  consider  under  the  various  aspects  which  its 
different  circumstances  and  parts  present. 

1.  In  the  personal  relations  which  the  Christiar 
sustains,  "  he  is  a  new  creature ;  old  things  are 
passed  away,  behold,  all  things  are  become  new." 

This  is  the  fact,  in  his  relations  to  God  his  Creator 
and  Judge.  The  violated  law  which  heaped  its 
curses  on  his  head,  while  he  was  an  impenitent  trans- 
gressor, a  rebel  unreconciled  to  God,  and  in  its  con- 
demnation, delivered  him  over  to  the  vengeance  of 
eternal  fire,  has  given  place  to  that  new  covenant  of 
promise  and  mercy,  which  offers  peace  and  salvation  in 
the  obedience  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  secures  to  him 
the  everlasting  favour  of  God,  being  in  all  things  well 
ordered  and  sure.  He  stands  in  the  divine  presence 
no  longer  under  condemnation.  No  charges  of  guilt 
are  made  against  him  now.  The  penalty  for  his  sin 
has  been  endured.  The  offering  for  his  justification 
has  been  made.  God  is  no  longer  angry  with  him 
every  day ;  but  as  a  reconciled  Father,  shines  unceas- 
ingly upon  his  soul,  in  the  fulness  and  tenderness  of 
grace.  He  enjoys  the  comfort  of  this  new  relation. 
His  conscience  is  peaceful  through  the  blood  of  sprink- 
ling, and  perfect  love  has  cast  out  fear.  He  trembles 
no  more  in  the  presence  of  a  Judge  rising  up  for  ven- 
geance upon  the  ungodly ;  but  rejoices  in  the  guar- 
dianship of  a  divine  protector,  and  an  unchangeable 
friend,  who  is  faithful  in  all  his  promises,  and  abound- 
ing in  grace  in  all  his  provisions  for  his  people. 

Such  is  also  the  fact  in  his  relation  to  Jesus  the  Sa- 


THE    NEW   CREATURE.  89 

viour.  Once,  like  others,  he  despised  and  rejected 
him.  He  turned  away  from  all  his  offers  of  pardon 
and  love.  He  walked  in  regard  to  him,  in  the  blind- 
ness of  his  mind,  having  his  understanding  darkened, 
and  his  heart  hardened,  through  the  power  of  sin. 
Now  he  acknowledges  and  feels  the  inestimable  im- 
portance of  such  a  Saviour ;  and  has  embraced  him 
in  the  warm  affections  of  his  heart,  as  his  comfort, 
and  hope,  and  portion  forever.  Jesus  is  not  only  a 
Saviour,  but  is  now  his  Saviour.  There  has  been 
between  them  a  reciprocal  imputation.  His  guilt  has 
been  laid  upon  the  Lord,  who  has  endured  its  curse, 
and  carried  it  away  forever ;  and  the  perfect  obedi- 
ence of  the  Lord  has  been  put  upon  him  as  his  glo- 
rious and  everlasting  covering,  and  he  enjoys  the  re- 
ward of  it  for  eternity.  The  Son  of  God  is  no  longer 
driven  from  his  affections,  to  make  way  for  inferior 
objects,  but  is  the  one  grand  object  of  all  his  desire, 
and  of  his  supreme  love.  Mutual  tenderness  and 
mutual  delight,  make  the  friendship  which  has  been 
thus  formed,  animating  and  precious.  The  influences 
of  the  Saviour's  Spirit  are  welcomed,  and  encouraged, 
and  prized,  and  no  longer  resisted  or  quenched.  The 
presence  and  favour  of  the  glorious  Emmanuel,  revealed 
by  the  agency  of  this  blessed  Spirit,  are  constantly 
desired  and  sought  after;  and  Jesus  as  a  personal 
Saviour,  appears  in  the  highest  degree  estimable  and 
precious. 

This  is  also  the  fact  in  his  relations  to  men  around 
him.     Here  all  things  are  become  new.     To  the  chil- 
dren of  God,  the  converted  and  believing,  wherever 
they  are,  he  is  a  brother  and  a  friend.     While  he 
H  2  12 


90  THE    NEW    CREATURE. 

loves  God  supremely,  he  loves  every  one  who  bears 
the  unage  of  God.  He  is  a  member  of  that  holy 
body  of  which  Christ  is  the  head,  and  he  feels  him- 
self to  be  thus  united  unto  all  who  partake  of  the 
same  fulness,  with  an  abiding  spirit  of  love.  The 
spontaneous  expression  of  his  heart,  is  "  Grace  be 
unto  all  them  that  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sin- 
cerity." He  rejoices  to  do  them  good.  He  loves  to 
labour  with  them  for  Christ.  He  finds  his  chief  de- 
light in  this  communion  of  saints. 

To  the  unconverted,  he  feels  a  bond  of  pity  which  he 
never  knew  before.  He  now  knows  the  galling  chain 
which  they  ignorantly  wear.  Earthly  friends  who 
are  without  Christ,  have  now  a  tenfold  interest  in  his 
heart,  beyond  what  he  felt  before.  He  labours  with 
earnest  desire,  and  prays  with  deep  anxiety  in  their 
behalf,  that  they  may  have  the  eyes  of  their  under- 
standing enlightened,  and  discern  the  things  which  are 
freely  given  them  from  God.  He  longs  to  sec  them 
also,  become  new  creatures  in  Jesus  Christ.  He  feels 
the  same  pity  for  ail  the  impenitent  among  men. 
Wherever  they  are,  he  desires  their  full  conversion 
into  God,  their  everlasting  salvation  in  Jesus  Christ. 
And  to  gain  this  end,  he  willingly  spends,  and  is 
spent,  in  the  service,  and  for  the  glory  of  the  Re- 
deemer. 

In  all  these  relations,  the  Christian  is  a  new  crea- 
ture. And  in  his  state  of  mind  and  spiritual  condi- 
tion, under  this  aspect,  '•'  old  things  are  passed  away, 
and  all  things  are  become  new." 

2.  In  his  personal  character,  the  Christian  is  a 
new  creature.     He  has  been  renewed  in  the  spirit  of 


THE    NEW    CREATURE.  91 

his  mind,  after  the  image  of  liim  who  has  created  him. 
He  has  thus  put  on  the  new  man,  which  is  renewed 
in  liohness,  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

He  is  released  from  the  dominion  of  sin.  Having 
been  received  under  the  covenanted  power  of  divine 
grace,  sin  shall  no  more  have  dominion  over  him.  It 
may  dwell  within  him,  but  it  dwells  there  as  a  cap- 
tive, not  as  a  ruler.  Its  influence  may  be  often  felt. 
It  may  sometimes  obtain  a  short  ascendancy.  When 
he  would  do  good,  he  may  often  find  evil  present  with 
him.  He  may  often  groan  in  anguish,  over  the  body  of 
death  which  he  finds  himself  compelled  to  carry  about 
with  him.  But  all  this  evidence  of  his  infirmity  is  suf- 
fered for  his  good,  to  settle  him  the  more  completely,  in 
humility,  and  in  dependence  upon  God.  He  is  sinful 
in  himself;  but  he  is  not  regarded,  or  dealt  with  as  a 
sinner  in  the  sight  of  God.  He  is  imperfect  and  in- 
firm in  his  character  and  purposes ;  but  he  is  not, 
and  he  shall  not  be,  governed  by  the  principles,  or 
the  power  of  sin.  God  is  daily  giving  him  the  vic- 
tory ;  and  he  will  finally  accomplish  it  for  him, 
through  Jesus  Christ.  The  hour  is  at  hand,  and  will 
soon  arrive,  when  the  Spirit  of  holiness  which  has 
been  implanted  in  his  heart,  shall  become  a  tri- 
umphant and  overruling  spirit  for  eternity ;  and  when 
the  sin,  which  in  its  power  is  already  conquered  and 
crushed,  shall  in  its  very  existence,  be  destroyed 
forever. 

He  is  released  from  the  darkness  and  confusion  of 
mind,  which  sin  has  produced.  He  has  been  brought 
back  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  that  order  of  character, 
in  which  man  was  formed  at  first.  The  nnage  of  God 
which  was  lost  in  man's  apostacy,  has  been  restored 


92  THE    NEW   CREATURE. 

to  him,  in  his  conversion.  His  understanding  is  en- 
lightened from  above,  and  controls  his  will,  drawing 
it  back  into  a  cheerful  submission  to  God.  His  will 
thus  regulated  and  conformed  to  God,  governs  his 
affections,  and  leads  them  to  the  things  which  are 
above.  His  heart  is  fixed,  trusting  in  God.  Thus 
in  the  true  order  of  his  powers,  his  whole  soul  is  de- 
voted to  the  service  of  God.  He  is  enlightened  to 
discern  the  things  which  are  excellent.  He  is  able  to 
choose  them  according  to  their  worth.  He  loves  those 
most,  and  with  the  most  elevated  feeling,  which  are 
most  desirable.  He  follows  after  them,  as  they  are 
held  up  before  him;  and  reaching  forward  to  the 
things  which  are  above,  he  presses  to  the  mark  of  the 
prize  of  his  high  calling  in  Christ  Jesus.  Thus  his 
heart  has  become  right  in  the  sight  of  God. 

He  has  received  a  principle  of  divine  grace  within 
him,  which  shall  flourish  and  increase  forever.  The 
work  which  is  progressing  in  his  heart,  is  the  work 
of  God.  It  may  now  be  small  and  weak,  like  the 
mustard  seed.  But  it  shall  grow  and  spread  itself 
abroad  eternally.  The  promises  and  illustrations  of 
the  Scripture  point  to  this  continual  growth  of  the 
kingdom  of  God  in  the  Christian's  heart,  and  en 
courage  him  with  the  assurance,  that  the  Lord  will 
perfect  that  which  he  has  begun  for  him,  and  carry 
on  the  good  work  unto  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
Thus  in  his  personal  character,  old  things  are  passed 
away,  and  all  things  are  become  new.  All  former  re- 
formations were  limited  and  temporary.  This  reno- 
vation of  his  soul,  is  entire  and  perpetual.  He  re 
mains  fixed  in  his  determination  of  obedience  to  God, 
and  no  fears  need  rest  upon  his  mind,  nor  any  doubts 


THE    NEW   CREATURE.  93 

to  agitate  or  distress  him.  His  rock  is  sure.  His 
hope  shall  not  be  overthrown.  Lust,  and  passion, 
and  pride,  and  devotion  to  the  world  and  self,  are 
conquered  by  divine  power ;  and  he  shall  be  kept  by 
that  power,  through  faith,  unto  everlasting  life.  His 
religious  interests  and  hopes  are  safe,  because  they 
are  not  entrusted  to  his  own  care,  but  preserved  for 
him,  by  divine  power  and  faithfulness.  His  bow  abideth 
in  strength,  and  the  arms  of  his  hands  are  made  strong 
by  the  hands  of  the  mighty  God  of  Jacob. 

3.  In  liis  associates,  the  Christian  is  a  new  crea- 
ture. Old  things  are  passed  away.  His  delight  is 
in  the  saints  that  are  in  the  earth,  and  in  such  as 
excel  in  virtue.  There  was  a  time  when  he  avoided 
the  society  of  the  pious :  when  he  felt  opposed  to  the 
assemblies  for  worship  and  religious  instruction; 
when  he  turned  away  from  those  who  set  God  always 
before  them.  There  was  a  time  when  he  loved  the 
associations  of  the  worldly,  the  haunts  of  giddiness 
and  mirth,  the  marts  of  wealth  and  emolument.  The 
profanity  of  the  ungodly  gave  him  no  pain.  Their 
devotion  to  this  life  did  not  seem  to  be  unreasonable. 
Their  forgetfulness  of  God  excited  no  astonishment. 
The  gilded  attractions  of  the  present  world  led  him 
astray  with  others,  in  a  voluntary  delusion. 

Now  there  has  been  a  total  revolution  in  all  his 
intercourse  with  men.  He  has  turned  away  from  all 
the  vain  things  which  charmed  him  most.  He  finds 
no  pleasure  in  the  follies  of  the  world.  Its  scenes 
of  recreation  do  not  attract  him.  Its  temptations 
cannot  deceive  him  He  has  forsaken  the  society  of 
those  who  fear  not  God ;  and  he  selects  for  his  com- 
panions and  friends,  those  in  whom  he  can  find  the 


94  THE    NEW    CREATURE. 

dhine  image,  and  tlie  mind  of  Christ.  One  hour 
passed  with  them  in  the  worship  of  the  Redeemer 
whom  he  loves,  gives  him  more  real  pleasure  than  he 
ever  found,  in  all  the  trifles  by  which  liis  unrenewed 
heart  was  drawn  and  governed.  He  looks  back  with 
wonder  and  shame,  to  the  time  when  he  roamed  in 
utter  thoughtlessness  about  his  high  vocation,  and  was 
wholly  occupied  with  the  most  vain  and  worthless 
objects.  He  now  regards  men  according  to  their 
character  in  the  sight  of  God.  He  respects  them,  as 
they  love  and  adhere  to  the  truth  of  the  Gospel.  He 
seeks  their  society,  as  he  finds  Jesus  with  them, 
and  finds  them  to  be  helpful  to  him  in  the  things 
which  belong  to  his  peace ;  or  as  he  may  be  able  to  do 
them  good,  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ.  If  his  ne- 
cessary business  drive  him  into  the  world,  he  regards 
it  only  as  his  place  of  duty  and  labour,  not  as  the 
source  of  his  pleasure  and  enjoyment.  He  thank 
fully  returns  to  the  society  of  those  whose  character 
can  give  him  pleasure,  and  who  are  pursuing,  with 
him,  the  path  of  spiritual  holiness  and  life.  He 
would  rather  be  a  door-keeper  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord,  than  dwell  in  the  tents  of  ungodliness,  as  their 
possessor  and  lord.  In  this  entire  change  of  his  taste 
and  dispositions,  in  reference  to  present  associates, 
he  finds  one  valuable  evidence,  that  he  is  indeed  in 
Christ,  and  a  new  creature;  that  for  him,  old  things  are 
passed  away  and  all  tilings  are  become  new.  God 
has  bestowed  upon  him  this  love  for  holy  society;  and 
it  is  the  comfortable  foundation  for  hope,  that  it  shall 
be  forever  gratified  also  by  him,  in  the  eternal  fellow- 
ship of  saints  and  angels,  around  the  Redeemer's 
throne  in  heaven. 


THE    NEW    CREATURE.  95 

4.  The  Christian  is  a  new  creature  in  his  occupa- 
tions and  enjoyments.  Here,  all  things  arc  become 
new.  The  meat  which  perisheth,  is  not  that  which 
he  now  supremely  desires ;  but  he  seeks  for  that 
which  endurcth  unto  everlasting  life.  His  motives 
for  present  exertion  arise  from  a  far  higher  source 
than  any  earthly  things.  His  wish  and  purpose  are, 
to  glorify  God  in  his  body  and  his  spirit,  which  are 
his.  He  feels  that  God  has  given  him  a  work  to 
finish,  and  that  an  account  of  his  stewardship  must 
be  rendered  up  to  him.  His  desire  is,  in  the  fulfil- 
ment of  every  required  duty,  to  honour  the  great  and 
perfect  name  of  his  covenant  God,  whom  he  delights 
to  serve.  His  occupations  are  still  in  the  world,  but 
he  is  not  of  the  world.  Religion  sanctifies  his  daily 
engagements.  True  piety  reigns  over  all  the  works 
of  his  hands.  And  through  the  divine  blessing  all 
things  are  made  to  work  together  for  his  good.  His 
grand  concern  is  to  glorif)^  God  in  his  ow^n  salvation, 
and  in  promoting  the  salvation  of  others.  All  his 
plans  and  occupations  in  life,  are  in  some  way  de- 
signed to  unite  in  promoting  this  great  end.  This 
occupation  and  purpose  is  to  him  altogether  new. 
He  was  not  before  accustomed  to  care  for  the  souls 
of  any.  The  religion  and  hope  of  the  Gospel  did 
not  before  appear  to  him  the  one  thing  needful.  But 
now,  however  he  may  be  occupied  in  life,  he  can  say 
with  St.  Paul,  "  This  one  thing  I  do,  forgetting  the 
things  which  are  behind,  and  reaching  forward  unto 
those  things  Avhich  are  before,  I  press  to  the  mark  of 
the  prize  of  my  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus." 
Every  thing  in  life  is  with  him  in  some  degree  con- 
nected with  the  cause  of  religion.     He  surveys  the 


96  THE    NEW    CREATURE. 

map  of  the  world,  as  a  religious  man.  He  views  the 
concerns  of  human  society,  and  marks  and  estimates 
the  occupations  of  men,  as  they  stand  related  to  this 
great  subject.  And  he  makes  it  his  own  plan,  to 
begin,  continue,  and  end  all  his  engagements,  in  the 
service  and  to  the  glory  of  God. 

While  his  occupations  are  thus  new,  his  enjoy- 
ments and  pleasures  are  so  also.  His  comforts  and 
joys  come  to  him  from  above.  In  the  multitude  of 
his  thoughts  within  him,  divine  comforts  delight  his 
soul.  He  looks  beyond  the  bounds  of  sense,  to  find 
his  joy  and  his  crown  of  rejoicing  in  eternity.  The 
delidit  which  he  once  received,  and  which  he  still 
sees  others  to  take  in  the  vanities  of  the  world,  is 
now  a  subject  of  astonishment  with  him.  The  re- 
pulsive aspect  which  the  services  of  religious  worship 
used  to  wear  to  his  mind,  is  equally  so.  Prayer  is 
no  longer  a  task,  but  a  pleasure.  The  Bible  comes 
to  him,  not  so  much  to  remind  him  of  a  duty,  as  to 
call  him  to  a  privilege.  It  is  a  high  enjoyment  to 
worship  God  in  spirit  and  in  truth ;  and  a  delightful 
tiling  to  be  tha.nkful  to  him  for  his  gifts  of  love.  Un- 
bounded mercies  continually  surrounding  him,  call  for 
new  praise  from  his  heart,  from  day  to  day.  Every 
gift,  Avhether  of  Providence  or  of  grace,  exhibits  to 
his  mind  a  new  aspect  of  his  Father's  goodness,  in 
the  contemplation  of  which  he  takes  great  delight. 
This  is  all  new.  The  love  of  the  world  used  to  reign 
where  the  love  of  the  Father  now  controls.  The 
lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of 
life,  used  to  govern  where  the  glory  of  the  cross  is 
now  the  only  boasting.  The  affections  of  his  heart 
are  now  set  upon  things  which  are  above,  which  be- 


THE   NEW   CREATURE.  97 

fore  had  no  higher  object  than  the  perishing  vanities 
of  the  world.  Thus  for  him  all  things  are  become 
new,  because  he  is  in  Christ.  Life  is  happy,  not  in 
proportion  to  the  abundance  of  things  which  he  pos- 
sesseth,  but  in  the  dominion  over  his  heart  in  all  its 
concerns,  of  tliat  peace  of  God  which  passeth  under- 
standing. 

5.  He  is  a  new  creature  in  his  prospects.  Here  old 
things  are  passed  away.  He  is  released  from  the 
bondage  of  the  fear  of  death,  from  the  condemnation 
for  sin,  which  made  the  wrath  of  God  to  abide  upon 
him.  He  has  in  the  blessed  promises  of  the  Gospel, 
the  assurance  of  that  perfect  love  in  God  for  him, 
which  casteth  out  all  fear.  He  has  an  abiding  testi- 
mony, that  he  has  been  bought  with  a  price,  and  an 
abiding  hope  of  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory,  which  has  been  also,  by  the  same 
price,  bought  for  him.  His  actual  expectations  are 
thus  changed,  because  the  facts  before  him  are  im- 
measurably changed.  He  looks  forward  to  no  sor- 
row, or  pain,  or  death,  in  eternity.  No  flames  of 
anguish  rise  up  in  his  path.  No  undying  worm  is 
preparing  for  ravages  upon  his  soul.  God  the  Saviour 
has  opened  the  way  to  bliss  and  glory ;  and  there  is 
prepared  by  him,  for  the  new  creature  whom  he  hath 
formed,  a  crown  which  is  incorruptible,  and  unfading 
for  eternity.  All  that  God  can  bestow  to  fill  up  the 
measure  of  his  perfection  and  bliss,  is  secured  to  him 
by  a  covenant,  which  cannot  be  removed,  and  which 
equally  keeps,  and  keeps  with  equal  certainty,  him  for 
glory,  and  glory  for  him. 

This  is  a  brief  view  of  the  text,  considered  as  a 
privilege  for  the  Christian.  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ, 
I  13 


98  THE    NEW   CREATURE. 

he  is  a  new  creature,  old  things  are  passed  away,  be- 
hold all  things  are  become  new."  This  is  the  present 
actual  privilege  of  the  renewed  man.  It  is  now  his 
property,  and  he  now  enjoys  it,  far  more  certainly 
than  the  house  in  which  he  dwells,  or  the  food  by 
which  his  body  is  sustained. 

6.  My  brethren,  you  see  here  the  worth  of  real 
piety,  the  true  value  of  the  religion  of  the  Gospel. 
It  can  be  regarded  only  as  a  source  of  lasting  enjoy- 
ment and  peace,  to  the  heart  which  is  governed  by  it. 
He  who  considers  the  service  of  God  but  as  a  duty 
which  must  be  accomplished,  sees  none  of  its  real 
worth.  He  who  looks  upon  it  as  the  perfect  freedom 
which  man  desires,  the  highest  honour,  and  the  only 
happiness  of  an  immortal  being,  sees  it,  as  it  is  re- 
vealed, and  finds  it  even  more  to  his  soul  than  he 
could  have  anticipated.  0,  my  friends,  thus  seek, 
and  thus  embrace  the  Gospel !  It  is  all  you  want ; 
and  your  regenerated  souls  will  rejoice  forever  in  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  its  grace. 

You  see  here  the  actual  encouragement  for  tl:e 
Christian's  hope  and  the  Christian's  effort.  There  is 
no  uncertainty  in  his  attainment  of  the  end  he  seeks. 
He  is  pressing  forward  in  a  path  of  life.  He  is  a 
new  creature ;  formed  by  God,  with  whom  there  is 
no  change  or  shadow  of  turning,  for  high,  and  noble, 
and  heavenly  ends.  No  created  mind  is  competent 
to  describe  the  issue  which  awaits  him,  and  for  which 
he  is  set  apart  by  the  grace  of  God.  Between  him 
and  that  glorious  issue,  though  there  are  many  diffi- 
culties, there  is  no  uncertainty.  He  may  soar  up- 
ward through  the  shining  path  to  glory,  perfectly  con- 
fident, that  what  God  has  undertaken,  he  will  certainly 


THE    NEW   CREATURE.  99 

accomplish,  to  the  eternal  honour  of  his  own  most 
holy  name.  He  has  in  this  certainty  of  the  result 
before  him,  the  greatest  possible  encouragement  to 
steadfastness  and  eflfort. 

Here  we  also  see  the  real  test  of  human  character. 
Is  man  a  new  creature  ?  Has  he  passed  from  death 
unto  life  ?  Has  he  been  begotten  again  by  the  power 
of  the  Highest,  to  the  enjoyment  of  a  Gospel  hope? 
Is  he  a  converted  man  ?  The  answer  to  this  single 
question  involves  all  that  man  can  look  for  for  eter- 
nity. Heaven  and  hell  are  suspended  upon  the  deci- 
sion of  it.  This  question  must  be  answered  here  or 
hereafter.  Its  affirmative  answer  will  be  here,  the 
only  fountain  of  peace ;  hereafter,  the  only  possible 
charter  of  hope,  and  preparation  for  glory.  The  un- 
righteous cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.  May 
God  give  you  grace  to  seek  this  glorious  character, 
and  glorious  hope !  May  he  lead  you  thus,  at  once, 
to  enter  upon  that  progress  of  conformity  to  nim, 
which  shall  result  in  the  bliss  of  his  own  presence 
forever ! 


VIl. 


THE    LORDS    SIDE. 


Exodus  sxxii.  26. — Who  is  on  the  Lord's  side? 

In  man's  apostacy  from  God,  the  native  disposi- 
tions of  the   human  heart  have  become   universally 
opposed  to  the  divine  will.     The  carnal,  or  natural 
mind  has  become  enmity  against  God,  and  refuses  to 
be  made  subject  to  his  commands.     Its  affections  are 
enchained  by  concerns  of  transitory  interest,  and  fol 
low  without  control   the  attractions  of  sensible  ob 
jects.     Its  will  is  determined  in  the  way  of  selfisl 
gratifications,  and  has  no  ability  to  withdraw  itself 
from  them,  to  seek  after  the  things  which  are  above 
Man  has  become  the  slave  of  appetite,  the  victim  of 
corruption,  and  by  wicked  works  the  enemy  of  God. 
This   aversion  to   the  divine   government,  exists  in 
every  unconverted  heart ;  and  it  is  the  difference  of 
circumstances  alone,  which  causes  a  difference  in  its 
development  in  the  outward  character  and  conduct. 
The  exercise  of  amiable  and  affectionate  dispositions 
towards   man,  may  gild   and   conceal  its   purposes. 
Education  and  the  restraints  of  surrounding  society 

100 


THE   lord's    side.  101 

may  prevent  the  full  exhibition  of  its  odious  charac 
teristics.  The  very  principle  of  its  own  selfishness, 
may  often  cloak  its  plans  of  sin.  But  the  native 
enmity  of  the  heart  to  God  still  remains.  Often  it 
betrays  his  aversion  to  the  purity  of  the  divine  com- 
mands, to  the  view  of  his  fellow-men.  Often  it  rises 
up  to  his  own  awakened  conscience,  under  a  terrific 
and  remorseful  aspect.  By  the  searching  eye  of  Al- 
mighty God,  it  is  unceasingly  marked  with  abhorrence 
for  its  guiltiness,  and  with  sorrow  for  its  effects. 

This  fact  of  the  natural  and  universal  enmity  of 
the  human  heart  to  God,  is  made  the  foundation  of 
all  tiie  plans  of  divine  grace.  While  we  were  ene- 
mies to  him,  and  because  we  were  enemies  to  him, 
God  hath  given  his  only  begotten  Son  to  die  for 
us,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him,  might  not  perish, 
but  have  everlasting  life.  In  the  midst  of  this 
world  of  enemies,  God  hath  accomplished  this  myste- 
rious and  glorious  scheme  of  redemption  for  man. 
By  a  method  which  angels  desire  to  understand,  but 
which  is  elevated,  in  its  operation  and  influence,  above 
the  reach  of  all  created  comprehension,  he  has  recon- 
ciled rebels  unto  himself;  and  has  gathered  from 
among  them  a  peculiar  people,  who,  by  his  own  Spirit, 
have  been  made  submissive  to  his  holy  will.  He  has 
established  a  spiritual  and  unchangeable  dominion 
in  the  very  midst  of  the  powers  of  darkness,  against 
which  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  be  permitted  to  pre- 
vail. Thus  the  world  has  been  divided.  Its  uncon- 
verted portion  of  men  still  remain  the  children  of 
disobedience,  the  subjects  of  the  prince  of  darkness, 
vessels  of  wrath,  fitted  to  destruction.  But  God  has 
drawn  out  also,' from  among  them,  another  portion  by 
I  2 


102  THE  lord's  side. 

his  Holy  Spirit,  a  ransomed  flock,  who  are  called  by 
the  name  of  his  own  Son,  marshalled  under  the  ban- 
ners of  this  glorious  Redeemer,  to  be  made  victorious 
in  him  over  all  their  enemies,  and  to  be  kept  by  his 
power  through  faith  unto  salvation.  These  followers 
of  the  Son  of  God  are  in  the  world.  They  are 
connected  with  the  children  of  the  world,  by  a  thou- 
sand ties  of  nature.  But  they  are  not  of  the  world, 
even  as  he  was  not  of  the  world.  They  have  a 
spiritual  birth,  a  spiritual  character,  a  spiritual  home. 
They  have  come  out  and  separated  themselves  from 
the  principles  of  the  world,  and  are  bound  together 
by  a  new  tie,  under  a  new  ruler,  Jesus  Christ  the 
righteous.  They  constitute  "the  Lord's  side,"  in 
the  present  world,  as  I  may,  without  injustice,  apply 
the  expression  of  my  text.  And  in  reference  to  such 
a  division  among  men,  I  propose  to  you  the  question 
of  the  text :  "  Who  is  on  the  Lord's  side  ?"  Where 
are  the  lines  of  demarcation  among  you,  my  brethren, 
between  the  kingdom  of  Christ  and  the  kingdom  ot 
Satan?  Who  among  you  are  the  unpardoned  and 
unrenewed  children  of  this  world?  And  who  are 
the  purchased  and  purified  children  of  God  ? 

There  is  a  sense  in  which  all  who  hear  me,  may 
assume  to  be  upon  the  Lord's  side.  They  have 
voluntarily  assembled  in  the  house  which  he  has  sanc- 
tified, avowedly  to  worship  him,  to  make  an  offering 
of  praise  and  prayer  to  him,  and  to  listen  to  the  mes- 
sages of  his  word.  Should  our  examination  proceed 
no  farther  than  the  mere  language  of  personal  asser- 
tion, this  claim  might  be  allowed.  But,  alas,  the  Lord 
sees  in  his  holy  temple,  many  things  which  must  be 
taken  hence.     The  sinful  hearts  of  men  still  bring  all 


THE    lord's   side.  103 

liie  business  and  the  follies  of  the  world  into  the 
sanctuary  of  God ;  and  the  inspection  of  them  by  a 
.  divine  eye,  shows  the  abomination  which  maketh  de- 
solate, standing  in  the  holy  place.  This  is  an  unde- 
niable fact ;  and  while  it  is  so,  we  are  bound  to  carry 
our  investigation  much  farther  than  this  apparent  pur- 
pose of  men,  in  asking  and  determining  who  are  on 
the  Lord's  side. 

I.  In  outward  profession  they  are  on  the  Lord's 
side,  who  have  become  partakers  of  the  peculiar  or- 
dinances which  the  Saviour  has  established  for  his 
church.  These  ordinances  he  has  made  imperative. 
The  authority  which  has  appointed  them  is  supreme, 
and  no  subordinate  power  can  in  any  wise  reverse 
them,  or  set  them  aside.  Until  men  have  become 
members  of  that  body  which  is  "  sanctified  by  the 
washing  of  water,  through  the  word,"  in  outward 
baptism ;  until  they  have  established  the  covenant 
into  which  they  have  thus  entered,  by  "  the  laying  on 
of  hands,"  which  two  appointments  constitute  "  the 
first  principles  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ,"  in  regard 
to  outward  ordinances ;  until  they  are  led  to  continue 
in  this  fellowship,  in  the  breaking  of  bread,  in  memory 
of  Christ;  they  cannot  be  said  to  be  on  the  Lord's 
side  in  the  world,  whatever  be  the  state  and  prepara- 
tion of  the  heart.  Both  the  body  and  spirit  of  man 
are  required  to  glorify  him  who  hath  bought  them 
both  with  a  price.  The  faith  of  the  one,  if  it  has 
been  wrought  there  by  him,  will  not  be  separated 
from  the  open,  appointed  profession  of  him  with  the 
other.  While  the  heart  believeth  unto  righteousness, 
the  mouth  must  make  confession  unto  salvation. 
These  two  God  hath  joined  together ;  and  the  nature 


104  THE    lord's    side. 

and  constitution  of  man,  as  well  as  the  authority  of 
God,  make  it  impossible  that  they  should  be  safely 
put  asunder.  By  the  outward  fruits  of  simple  obe- 
dience to  the  commands  of  Christ,  are  we  to  show  the 
faith  which  dwells  in  our  hearts;  and  a  professed 
faith  which  does  not  result  in  such  works  of  obe- 
dience, is  declared  to  be  dead.  But  then  the  utmost 
conformity  to  ordinances,  without  the  attending,  ade- 
quate renewing  of  the  Spirit,  is  useless  also.  The 
most  solemn  outward  profession  may  cover  an  unsub- 
dued, nay,  a  cherished  enmity  to  God.  All  are  not 
Israel  in  heart,  who  are  of  Israel  in  name.  Tares 
are  growing  with  the  wheat.  Children  of  darkness, 
fitting  for  their  own  place,  assemble  with  the  sons  of 
God,  in  all  these  privileges  of  the  outward  sanctuary. 
This  leads  us  to  the  necessity  of  a  more  intimate  ex- 
amination. The  Saviour  has  said,  "  except  a  man  be 
born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God."  This  must  be  received  as  the 
law  of  his  kingdom.  Man  has  no  authority  to  say 
that  either  may  be  dispensed  with.  On  the  one  side,  we 
may  not  say,  that  he  may  certainly  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God,  who  believes  himself  to  have  expe- 
rienced a  spiritual  birth,  but  discards  the  appointed 
outward  profession  of  the  fact ;  nor  on  the  other  side, 
that  he  is  secure  who  is  a  participant  of  ordinances 
with  the  utmost  accuracy,  but  wants  the  spiritual  new 
creation  within.  The  two  united,  constitute  the  new 
birth,  without  which  no  man  can  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God.  But  neither  by  itself,  comes  up  to  the 
Saviour's  demand  for  a  regeneration  in  man.  And  we 
are  not  authorised  by  the  Scripture  to  allow  either,  in 
separation,  to  be  a  sufficient  preparation  for  eternal 


THE    lord's    side.  105 

life.  While,  therefore,  this  outward  profession  in  the 
Lord's  ordinances,  is  the  personal,  public  assertion, 
that  we  are  upon  the  Lord's  side,  it  opens  the  way  for 
a  further  examination  of  the  real  spirit  and  character 
of  men.  There  is  another  standard  which  looks  far 
beyond  all  outward  professions,  in  a  determination  of 
this  question.  There  are  sure  and  incontestible  evi- 
dences that  our  profession  is  a  just  and  sincere  one. 
There  is  a  character  which  the  power  of  man  cannot 
feign,  and  which  accurately  marks  those  who  have 
enlisted  themselves  under  the  banner  of  the  King  of 
saints.  These  evidences  are  to  be  presented,  not  as 
the  marks  by  which  we  may  form  an  opinion  of  others, 
but  as  the  testimony  by  which  we  may  examine  our- 
selves. 

IL  To  these  characteristics  of  those  who  are  on 
the  Lord's  side,  I  would  now  direct  your  attention. 

1.  They  who  are  on  the  Lord's  side,  have  been 
converted  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  from  their 
natural  state  of  blindness  and  enmity  to  God.  They 
have  been  formed  anew,  after  the  pure  and  perfect 
image  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  They  have  passed, 
in  their  experience,  from  death  unto  life.  This 
spiritual  conversion  is  the  sole  commencement  of  a 
spiritual  life.  Man  at  enmity  with  God,  is  by  divine 
grace  subdued  and  reconciled.  Blind  and  careless, 
he  is  by  the  same  power  awakened  and  illuminated. 
In  bondage  to  fleshly  appetites  and  lusts,  he  is  made 
free  wath  the  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God.  His  affec- 
tions fixed  upon  the  world  and  self,  are  drawn  oif  to 
God  and  heavenly  things.  All  this  is  done  for  him, 
w4ien  the  Spirit  of  God  forms  him  anew  for  the  love 
and  service  of  God.    This  must  be  done,  equally  done 

14 


106  THE    lord's    side. 

for  all.  It  is  not  only  necessary  for  those  whose  ex- 
ternal conduct  has  been  grossly  corrupted  and  de- 
praved, but  for  the  most  restrained  and  estimable 
among  men,  who  have  lived  unto  themselves,  and  not 
unto  Jesus  Christ  the  Lord.  No  advantages  of  edu- 
cation, or  example,  or  outward  influence,  can  do  away 
in  any  case,  the  indispensable  requisition  of  a  new 
creation  of  the  soul.  God  may  sanctify  and  bless  a 
thousand  different  instruments  for  the  accomplishment 
of  this  important  end.  He  may  effect  it  for  different 
individuals  in  every  different  period  of  life  between 
infancy  and  death.  But  he  will  not  suffer  its  neces- 
sity to  be  set  aside  for  any.  Man  must  be  brought 
out  of  darkness  into  the  marvellous  light  of  the  Gos- 
pel by  this  manifest  conversion  of  his  heart,  or  he 
will  be  an  inheritor  of  the  blackness  of  darkness  for- 
ever. When  this  spiritual  birth  takes  place,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  required  outward  profession,  you  come 
upon  the  Lord's  side,  and  all  your  relations  to  God 
are  changed  forever.  From  the  children  of  wrath, 
you  are  made  the  children  of  God ;  and  heaven,  in  all 
the  brightness  of  its  glory,  opens  upon  you,  as  an 
everlasting  home,  in  the  stead  of  that  unutterable 
wretchedness  and  despair,  which  was,  in  a  state  of  sin, 
your  only  prospect  beyond  the  grave. 

Let  your  character  and  condition  be  tried  by  this 
standard.  Who  among  you  have  been  thus  brought 
to  a  knowledge  and  love  of  truth  ?  You  were  born 
without  distinction,  under  the  curse  of  a  violated  law, 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.  Have  you  been  raised 
to  a  new  and  spiritual  life  ?  Have  you  been  made  to 
experience  and  to  rejoice  in  the  pardoning  love  of 
God  our  Saviour?     I  have  no  doubt  that  some  of 


THE  lord's  side.  107 

you  can  point  to  a  period  in  their  lives,  before  wliich 
they  felt  no  care  for  their  souls,  no  interest  in  the 
great  concerns  of  the  Gospel,  no  anxiety  for  the 
things  which  belong  to  their  peace  ;  but  since  which, 
they  have  been  seeking  for  heavenly  treasures,  and 
the  great  object  of  their  life  has  been,  to  glorify  God, 
and  to  find  a  gracious  acceptance  at  his  hands. 
Others  may  be  ready  to  say  that  they  know  no  pre- 
cise period  of  any  change  in  their  hearts,  but  they  do 
know  that  it  is  now  their  supreme  wish,  and  their 
highest  effort,  to  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of 
sin,  and  to  be  made  conformable  to  the  holy  will  of 
God.  I  rest  no  authority  upon  the  hour,  or  the  in- 
strument of  this  conversion.  Whether  God  have 
gently  inclined  the  tender  shoot,  or,  with  resistless 
power,  have  uprooted  the  tree  at  its  maturity,  is  not 
the  important  question.  But  the  result  must  be  mani- 
fest; your  change  of  feeling,  and  purpose,  and  de- 
sires, must  be  clear  and  evident;  your  love  for  Christ, 
and  your  hatred  of  sin,  conscious  and  distinct ;  your 
possession  of  a  spiritual  mind,  known  and  experienced; 
and  then  whatever  be  the  instrument,  the  work  is  the 
same,  and  you  are  put  by  it,  on  the  Lord's  side  for- 
ever. 

2.  They  who  are  on  the  Lord's  side  in  this  division 
of  the  world,  make  it  their  object  to  live  by  faith  in 
his  promises  and  power,  and  as  pilgrims  on  the  earth, 
to  become  prepared  for  a  better  country,  that  is,  an 
heavenly.  Nothing  more  clearly  distinguishes  a  re- 
newed and  spiritual  mind,  than  the  habitual  operation 
of  this  principle  of  faith.  In  the  various  changes  of  the 
present  world,  this  spiritual  mind  exercises  a  filial 
confidence  in  God,  that  all  things  shall  work  together 


108  THE    lord's    side. 

for  its  good.  In  the  darkest  hours  of  earthly  dis- 
couragement, it  can  repose  itself  upon  the  assurance 
of  divine  protection,  and  derive  from  that  assurance, 
thankfulness  and  peace.  It  looks  not  at  the  temporal 
things,  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  eternal  things,  which 
are  unseen.  Its  prevailing  tendency  is  to  reach  far 
beyond  all  mortal  changes,  to  a  city  eternal  in  the 
heavens,  and  to  rejoice  in  the  hope  of  the  rest  which 
remaineth  for  the  people  of  God.  My  brethren,  how  is 
it  with  you,  in  regard  to  this  ?  Are  you,  in  the  exercise 
and  enjoyment  of  this  spiritual  faith,  upon  the  Lord's 
side  ?  Are  you  thus  resting  upon  the  Lord  Jesus  for 
pardon  and  acceptance  ?  Are  you  confiding  in  his  grace 
and  presence,  to  make  you  conquerors  ?  Are  you  en- 
during as  seeing  him  who  is  invisible  ?  Are  you  for- 
getting the  things  which  are  behind,  the  world,  with  all 
its  gains,  honours,  and  pleasures ;  and,  reaching  for- 
ward to  the  things  which  are  before,  the  full  sanctifi- 
cation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  final  enjoyment  of  the 
glory  of  God,  the  blissful  presence  of  the  Redeemer  ? 
Are  you  pressing  on  to  the  mark  of  the  prize  of  your 
high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  ?  Are  you  labour- 
ing to  live  above  this  world,  and  to  pass  through  life 
with  your  hearts  and  your  hopes  in  heaven  ?  Is  it  a 
subject  of  experience  with  you,  that  there  is  nothing 
on  earth  which  you  desire  in  comparison  with  the  love 
of  God  your  Saviour  ? 

3.  They  who  are  on  the  Lord's  side  experience  a 
daily  conflict  with  the  principles  of  sin.  While  men 
are  unconverted,  this  contest  is  unknown.  They  have 
often  a  struggle  between  appetite  and  character,  be- 
tween immediate  and  remote  interest,  between  con- 
science and  temptation.     But  in  all  these  cases,  the 


THE    lord's    side.  109 

man  himself  is  on  the  side  of  the  transgression ;  and 
the  opposer  whicli  is  found  in  character,  or  con- 
science, or  supposed  ultimate  interest,  is  an  opposer 
to  himself  Every  thing  like  contest,  then,  is  between 
himself  and  some  better  principle,  that  would  lead 
him  in  some  respects  to  a  better  course.  He  has  no 
desire  to  do  the  will,  or  to  promote  the  glory  of  God, 
and  he  resists  every  effort  of  the  Spirit  that  would 
lead  him  to  it.  The  converted  man  has  changed 
sides  in  this  contest.  Instead  of  warring  against  con- 
science, and  the  Spirit  of  God,  he  is  now,  with  them, 
conflicting  with  the  principles  and  power  of  sin.  He 
sees  his  unworthiness.  He  abhors  his  transgressions. 
With  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  his  side,  he 
contends  against  them,  and  the  temptations  which 
lead  to  them.  Thus  an  unceasing  warfare  is  carried 
on  within  him.  He  mourns  over  the  discovered  in- 
roads of  sin,  and  is  determined  to  resist  them,  and 
drive  them  back.  He  is  resolved,  that  however  sin 
may  press  upon  him,  it  shall  not  have  dominion  over 
him.  The  subject  of  his  prayers,  his  tears,  his 
earnest  exertions  is,  that  he  may  be  kept  back  from 
presumptuous  sins,  and  cleansed  from  his  secret 
faults.  If  he  wander  from  God,  it  is  not  wilfully. 
If  he  forget  him,  it  is  not  with  an  ungrateful  design. 
He  frequently  finds  himself  tempted  to  do  what  he 
would  not.  But  his  determined  will  and  purpose  are 
on  the  side  of  duty,  and  the  temptation  is  no  longer 
he,  but  sin  that  dwelleth  in  him.  The  prayer  and  un- 
ceasing desire  of  his  heart  is,  that  God,  by  his  own 
Spirit,  would  deliver  him  wholly  from  this  death.  His 
only  confidence  and  hope  is,  that  he  who  has  begun  a 
good  w^ork  in  him,  will  carry  it  on  wdth  increasing 
K 


no  THE    lord's    side. 

power,  even  unto  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Try 
yourselves  by  this.  Are  you  thus  upon  the  Lord's 
side  ?  Is  sin  a  burden  to  your  souls  ?  Is  holiness 
of  character  the  object  of  your  desires  and  labours  ? 
Are  you  contending  against  the  predominance  of 
unholy  appetites,  passions,  and  pursuits?  Are  you 
resisting  the  prevalence  of  a  carnal,  vs^orldly  mind? 
Do  you  feel  it  to  be  the  greatest  of  all  evils  to  be 
alienated  from  God  ?  Is  it  your  daily  prayer,  that  he 
would  deliver  you  from  the  bondage  and  danger  of 
such  a  spirit?  Does  the  consciousness  of  sin,  how- 
ever involuntary,  fill  you  with  grief?  If  you  have 
no  experience  of  this  inward  conflict,  and  are  not 
daily,  by  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelling  in  you,  resisting 
the  power  of  sin  and  death,  you  cannot  be  on  the 
Lord's  side. 

4.  They  who  are  on  the  Lord's  side,  are  going  on 
from  grace  to  grace.  They  are  daily  gaining  victory 
over  sin,  and  drawing  more  near  to  the  true  and  holy 
God.  The  mind  of  Christ  is  forming  within  them. 
The  Spirit  of  Christ  is  shedding  his  lovely  and  holy 
influence  over  their  hearts.  The  fruits  of  grace  are 
exhibiting  themselves  with  increasing  brightness  in 
all  their  conduct.  Holiness  and  pureness  of  living, 
meekness  of  spirit,  a  contented  and  thankful  temper, 
a  readiness  to  do  good,  and  to  endure  evil,  form 
the  characteristics  of  their  lives.  As  years  pass  by 
with  them,  they  are  continually  rising  above  the 
vanities  of  the  world ;  acting  upon  the  belief,  that 
they  have  here  no  continuing  city ;  labouring  not  for 
the  meat  which  perisheth,  but  for  that  which  endur'^th 
unto  everlasting  life ;  rejoicing  more  and  more  in  the 
favour   of  God   reconciled   to   them   through   Jesus 


THE    lord's    side.  Ill 

Christ.  Life  is  with  them,  not  only  a  conflict,  but  also 
a  progress  to  victory.  The  grace  which  as  an  incor- 
ruptible seed  was  implanted  in  their  hearts,  in  the 
hour  of  their  conversion,  expands,  and  grows,  and 
matures,  till,  as  the  full  corn  in  the  ear,  it  brings  forth 
the  fruits  of  holiness,  unto  everlasting  life.  From 
the  hour  in  which  they  were  brought  over  as  captives 
upon  the  Lord's  side,  and  their  affections  and  wills 
were  enlisted  in  his  cause,  they  are  promoted  in  his 
service,  and  advance  every  day  the  more  nearly  unto 
him.  From  babes  in  Christ,  they  pass  through  every 
intervening  period  of  a  spiritual  life,  till  more  than 
perfect  men  in  Christ  Jesus,  they  shine  forever,  as  the 
angels  in  the  presence  of  God. 

My  beloved  brethren,  are  you  upon  the  Lord's 
side?  0,  decide  for  yourselves  this  all-important 
question !  Have  you  ever  given  up  your  habits  and 
determinations  of  rebellion  against  him,  and  humbling 
yourselves  before  him,  besought  him  to  lead  you  into 
captivity  by  his  grace?  0,  deceive  not  yourselves  in 
a  matter  of  such  unspeakable  consequence.  Take 
the  description  which  has  now  been  given  to  you  of 
the  Lord's  people,  and  by  it,  faithfully  try  your  lives 
and  hearts.  Rest  not  in  a  heedless  uncertainty  re- 
garding the  state  of  your  souls.  In  God's  contro- 
versy with  sin,  there  is  no  neutral  ground.  "  He  that 
is  not  with  me,  is  against  me."  Every  individual 
before  me  is  either  the  child  or  the  enemy  of  God ; 
is  either  ripening  for  unfading  bliss,  or  withering  for 
a  changeless  sorrow. 

Can  it  be,  that  you  feel  no  concern  in  the  decision 
of  such  a  case  as  this  ?  Can  you  suffer  the  conviction 
that  God  is  angry  with  you  every  day,  and  yet  feel  no 


112  THE    lord's    side. 

anxiety,  and  make  no  exertions  to  obtain  your  peace 
with  him  ?  Are  you  in  a  state  of  warfare  with  the 
great  King  of  heaven,  and  yet  refuse  while  he  entreats 
you  to  return  unto  him,  to  give  up  your  opposition  to 
his  will  ?  Have  you  reflected  how  short  is  the  period 
in  which  this  reconciliation  with  an  offended  God  must 
take  place  ?  A  few  more  days,  and  he  that  shall  come, 
will  come,  and  will  not  tarry.  Will  you  choose  the 
despondency  and  fear  of  a  death  without  hope  ?  Will 
you  choose  to  meet  a  Saviour  then,  who  has  been 
driven  from  you  before,  by  an  inexcusable  ingratitude? 
Will  you  rush  unpardoned  and  accursed,  into  that  pre- 
sence, where  the  holiest  of  the  holy  veil  themselves 
with  reverence  ?  Will  you  reject  the  comfort  of  a  Re- 
deemer's grace,  despise  the  riches  of  his  forbearance, 
and  cast  from  you  the  assistance  of  the  one,  who 
alone  has  power  to  defend  you  in  the  hour  of  trial  ? 
Will  you  give  up  here,  the  pleasantness  and  peace 
which  Jesus  offers,  and  the  glorious  inheritance  which 
he  has  provided,  and  make  your  souls,  with  their 
immortal  welfare,  a  sacrifice  to  your  determined 
rebellion  against  God?  Alas,  if  this  be  your  de- 
cision, if  you  are  resolved  not  to  be  on  the  Lord's 
side,  man  can  do  nothing  for  you.  Your  hours  of 
regret  are  coming,  when  tears  of  blood  will  not  repair 
your  loss,  nor  anguish  unutterable  purchase  peace. 

But  if  you  will  return,  come.  Lay  aside  your 
repugnance  to  the  will  of  God,  your  contests  with 
his  authority,  your  resistance  of  his  Spirit.  Let 
nothing  detain  or  discourage  you.  Offer  yourselves 
to  God,  and  in  that  divine  Saviour  in  whom  he  has 
laid  up  the  treasures  of  his  grace  for  you,  seek  pardon 
and  life,  and  you  shall  in  no  wise  be  cast  out 


THE    lord's   side.  113 

To  those  of  you  who  are  on  the  Lord's  side,  let 
me  say,  come  daily  anew  to  him,  with  humble,  believing 
hearts,  and  he  will  strengthen  and  bless  you.  Live 
more  entirely  by  faith  in  him.  Suffer  him  not  to  be 
wounded  by  your  negligence  or  worldliness.  Crucify 
him  not  afresh,  by  going  back  to  the  elements  of  the 
world,  and  drinking  again  out  of  broken  cisterns. 
Never  forget  that  there  is  no  concord  between  Christ 
and  Belial,  no  halfway  ground  in  religious  character 
or  profession.  There  can  be  no  giving  up  one  hour 
of  conflict  for  the  sake  of  worldly  peace.  You  must 
bear  about  with  you  the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
and  never  leave  it  as  a  doubtful  matter  to  whom  you 
belong.  0,  that  you  may  have  grace  to  live  ever 
mindful  of  your  eternal  obligations,  and  always  as 
becometh  tliose  who  are  on  the  Lord's  side. 


Bd  15 


VIII. 


THE  PROTECTED  PEOPLE. 


EzEKiEL  ix.  3 — 6. — And  he  called  to  the  man  clothed  with  linen,  which 
had  the  writer's  inkhurn  by  his  side  ;  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him.  Go 
through  the  midst  of  the  city,  through  the  midst  of  Jerusalem,  and  set  a 
mark  upon  the  foreheads  of  the  men  that  sigh,  and  that  cry,  for  all  the 
abominations  that  be  done  in  the  midst  thereof  And  to  the  others  he  said 
in  my  hearing.  Go  ye  after  him  through  the  city,  and  smite  ,•  let  not 
your  eye  spare,  neither  have  ye  pity  .•  Slay  utterly,  old  and  young,  both 
maids,  and  little  children,  and  women  ,■  but  come  not  near  any  man  upon 
whom  is  the  mark ;  and  begin  at  my  sanctuary. 

To  understand  adequately,  both  the  circumstances 
which  are  related  in  this  passage,  and  the  application 
which  I  design  to  make  of  them,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  refer  shortly,  to  the  history  which  the  prophet  him- 
self gives. 

He  was  sitting  in  his  house,  and  the  elders  of  Judah 
were  sitting  before  him,  when  the  hand  of  the  Lord 
God  fell  upon  him.  He  beheld,  and  lo,  a  likeness  as 
the  appearance  of  fire.  He  saw  a  hand  which  was 
put  forth,  and  took  him  by  a  lock  of  his  head.  And 
the  Spirit  lifted  him  up  between  the  earth  and  the 
heaven,  and  brought  hiii.  in  the  visions  of  God  to 
Jerusalem,  to  the   inner  door  of  the   temple.     And 

114 


THE  PROTECTED  PEOPLE.  115 

the  glory  of  the  God  of  Israel  was  there,  according 
to  the  vision  which  he  liad  previously  seen  in  the  plain. 
There,  God  displayed  to  him  successive  scenes  of  the 
iniquity  of  the  people ;  and  carried  him  forward 
through  different  parts  of  the  temple,  and  of  the  city, 
to  witness  the  increasing  abominations  which  were 
committed  by  various  classes  of  the  inhabitants  of  Je- 
rusalem. The  whole  city  seemed  to  him  to  be  filled 
with  crime.  Even  the  sanctuary  of  the  holy  God, 
was  desecrated  by  the  polluting  devices  of  wicked  men. 
He  beheld  seventy  of  the  ancients  of  the  house  of 
Israel,  each  provided  with  a  censer,  offering  a  thick 
cloud  of  incense  to  every  form  of  creeping  things, 
and  abominable  beasts,  and  all  the  idols  of  the  house 
of  Israel,  which  were  portrayed  upon  the  wall  round 
about,  saying  to  each  other,  "  the  Lord  seeth  us  not, 
and  the  Lord  hath  forsaken  the  earth."  He  saw  the 
women  engaged  in  all  the  superstitions  of  their  idol 
worship ;  and  the  men  even  between  the  porch  and 
the  altar  of  the  temple,  with  their  backs  to  the  temple 
of  the  Lord,  and  their  faces  toward  the  east,  worship- 
ping the  sun. 

When  all  these  varied  scenes  of  guilt  had  been  ex- 
hibited to  him,  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  "  Hast  thou 
seen  tliis,  0  son  of  man  ?  Is  it  a  light  thing  to  the 
house  of  Judah,  that  they  commit  the  abominations 
which  they  commit  here  ?  For  they  have  filled  the 
land  with  violence,  and  have  returned  to  provoke  me 
to  anger ;  and  lo,  they  put  the  branch  to  their  nose. 
Therefore  will  I  also  deal  in  fury ;  mine  eye  shall  not 
spare,  neither  will  I  have  pity ;  and  though  they  cry 
in  mine  ears  with  a  loud  voice,  yet  will  I  not  hear 
them." 


116  THE  PROTECTED  PEOrLE. 

The  Liord  then  proceeded  to  show  him  the  fulfil- 
ment of  this  solemn  denunciation.  "  He  cried  in 
mine  ears,"  says  the  prophet,  "with  a  loud  voice, 
*  cause  them  that  have  charge  over  the  city,  to  draw 
near,  even  every  man  with  his  destroying  weapon  in 
his  hand.'  And  behold,  six  men  came  from  the  way 
of  the  higher  gate,  which  lieth  toward  the  north,  and 
every  man  with  a  slaughter  weapon  in  his  hand ;  and 
one  man  among  them  was  clothed  with  linen  with  a 
writer's  inkhorn  by  his  side  ;  and  they  went  in  and 
stood  beside  the  brazen  altar.  And  the  glory  of  the 
God  of  Israel  was  gone  up  from  the  cherub  where- 
upon it  was,  to  the  threshold  of  the  house."  The 
Lord  forsook  a  sanctuary  which  had  been  so  polluted 
by  man's  transgression,  and  stood  at  the  door  of  the 
temple,  to  direct  the  work  of  separation  and  punish- 
ment among  the  people,  which  he  had  determined 
now  to  accomplish.  He  had  come  forth  in  his  anger, 
to  take  vengeance  on  the  iniquities  of  men,  and  to 
deal  with  them  in  his  fury,  for  all  the  abominations 
which  they  had  committed,  and  for  the  hardness  and 
impenitent  heart  with  which  they  defended  themselves 
in  them. 

But  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  had  not  all  thus 
forsaken  or  provoked  him.  The  Lord  had  reserved 
to  himself,  as  in  the  time  of  Elijah,  a  remnant  who 
had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  the  pernicious  influence 
of  a  majority;  who  had  dared  to  be  "faithful  found 
among  the  faithless."  Before  the  work  of  determined 
destruction  could  commence,  he  must  take  forth  the 
precious  from  among  the  vile.  They  had  manifested 
their  zeal  for  his  honour,  and  their  love  for  his  ser 
vice,  to  the  utmost  of  their  power.     And  though  they 


THE  PROTECTED  PEOPLE.  117 

had  not  been  able  to  rule  the  characters,  or  to  limit 
the  wickedness  of  the  residue  of  men,  they  should 
certainly  be  protected  amidst  their  dangers,  and 
rescued  from  tiicir  destruction.  The  prophet  says 
"  he  called  to  the  man  clothed  with  linen,  which  had 
the  writer's  inkhorn  by  his  side ;  and  the  Lord  said 
unto  him,  '  go  through  the  midst  of  the  city,  through 
the  midst  of  Jerusalem,  and  set  a  mark  upon  the  fore- 
heads of  the  men  that  sigh,  and  that  cry,  for  all  the 
abominations  that  be  done  in  the  midst  thereof.'  " 
Thus  were  the  servants  of  God  to  be  distinguished. 
They  had  done  all  that  they  could  do,  to  maintain 
the  authority  of  God  among  the  people.  And  when 
all  their  efforts  were  vain,  they  still  sighed  and  cried 
over  abominations  which  they  could  not  prevent.  In 
the  spirit  of  David,  rivers  of  water  ran  down  their 
eyes,  because  men  kept  not  the  divine  law.  Like  Je- 
remiah, when  men  would  not  hear,  their  souls  wept  in 
secret  places,  for  their  pride.  But  even  this  the  Lord 
hearkened  and  heard ;  and  a  book  of  remembrance 
was  written  before  him,  for  them  that  feared  the  Lord, 
and  that  thought  upon  his  name.  And  now,  when 
sudden  destruction  was  coming  upon  ungodly  men, 
which  they  could  not  escape,  these  faithful  servants 
of  God,  should  be  infallibly  preserved.  As  the  Israel- 
ites were  distinguished  in  Egypt  by  the  blood  of  the 
lamb,  and  the  destroying  angels  were  to  pass  over 
every  house  on  which  there  was  seen  the  lamb's 
blood,  so  these  were  now  to  be  marked  by  divine  ap- 
pointment, that  they  might  be  secure  from  evil. 

When  this  command  was  obeyed,  the  Lord  said  to 
the  others,  the  six  men  who  had  the  slaughter  weapons 
in  their  hands,  "Go  ye  after  him  through  the  city, 


118  THE  PROTECTED  PEOPLE. 

and  smite ;  let  not  your  eye  spare,  neither  have  ye 
pity;  slay  utterly,  old  and  young,  both  maids,  and 
little  children,  and  women;  but  come  not  near  any 
man  upon  whom  is  the  mark :  and  begin  at  mj^  sanc- 
tuary." This  dreadful  order  was  immediately  exe- 
cuted. The  destroying  angels  began  at  the  brazen 
altar  where  they  stood,  with  the  ancient  men,  who 
were  before  the  house.  No  place  or  circumstances 
were  to  be  a  protection  for  impenitent  guilt.  God 
said  unto  the  executors  of  his  wrath,  "  defile  the 
house,  and  fill  the  courts  with  the  slain ;"  and  then, 
"  go  ye  forth."  "  And  they  went  forth,  and  slew  in 
the  city." 

"  And  it  came  to  pass,"  says  the  prophet,  "  while 
they  were  slaying  them,  and  I  was  left,  that  I  fell 
upon  my  face,  and  said,  Ah,  Lord  God !  wilt  thou 
destroy  all  the  residue  of  Israel,  in  thy  pouring  out  of 
thy  fury  upon  Jerusalem?  Then  said  he  unto  me, 
The  iniquity  of  the  house  of  Israel  and  Judah  is  ex- 
ceeding great,  and  the  land  is  full  of  blood,  and  the 
city  full  of  perverseness ;  for  they  say,  '  the  Lord 
hath  forsaken  the  earth,  and  the  Lord  seeth  not. 
And  as  for  me  also,  mine  eye  shall  not  spare,  neithei 
will  I  have  pity,  but  I  will  recompense  their  way  upon 
their  head.  And  behold  the  man  clothed  with  linen, 
which  had  the  inkhorn  by  his  side,  reported  the  mat- 
ter, saying,  '  I  have  done  as  thou  hast  commanded 
me.' " 

My  brethren,  "  whatsoever  things  were  written 
aforetime,  were  written  for  our  admonition."  And 
the  propriety  of  the  extension  of  this  instructive  pas- 
sage of  Scripture,  in  an  application  to  our  own  time 
and  circumstances,  is  so  manifest,  that  there  is  hardly 


THE  PROTECTED  PEOPLE.  119 

required  of  me  any  thing  more  than  a  conclusion  of 
solemn  ind  awakening  exhortation,  to  the  various 
classes  of  those  who  hear  me,  and  who  may  be  in- 
cluded in  it.  As  it  is  a  history  of  facts  which  are 
past,  it  refers  to  those  whom  it  describes  by  name. 
But  as  it  is  an  exemplary  instance  of  the  dealings  of 
Almighty  God  with  sinful  men,  it  is  an  illustration  of 
facts  which  are  to  come,  in  reference  to  ourselves. 
May  the  Lord,  the  Spirit,  be  mercifully  pleased  to 
make  us  wise  in  its  consideration,  and  faithful  in  its 
improvement,  for  ourselves. 

The  simple  general  subject  which  the  text  offers  to 
our  notice,  is  an  exhibition  of  the  people  of  god, 

PROTECTED    IN    THE    DESTRUCTION    OF    A    WORLD    OF 

THE  UNGODLY.  Upou  this  important  subject,  I  re- 
mark first, 

I.  That  God  has  a  people  of  his  own  in  a  world 
of  sinners,  who  feel  for  his  honour,  and  desire  to  sus- 
tain his  authority.  This  is  at  all  times  a  most  im- 
portant and  precious  fact.  It  never  was  more  im- 
portant than  it  is  in  our  day.  God  has  such  a  people. 
Whatever  may  be  the  amount  of  human  iniquity, 
however  overspreading  and  fearful,  the  surrounding 
abominations  of  mankind,  there  is  still  a  remnant, 
upon  whom  the  Lord  looks  with  favour.  They  are 
men  who  tremble  at  his  word,  and  who,  as  they  are 
mutually  acquainted,  speak  often  one  to  another. 
These  are  the  salt  of  the  earth;  the  preservation  of 
men.  Set  apart  by  the  Lord,  for  himself;  made  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  new  creatures  in  Christ  Jesus ;  stand- 
ing with  his  robe  of  righteousness,  complete  in  him ; 
instant  in  prayer ;  fruitful  in  holiness ;  and  preferring 
the  reproach  of  Christ,  to  the  treasures  of  the  world; 


120         THE  PROTECTED  PEOPLE. 

they  are  at  once,  the  ornament  and  the  defence  of 
mankind.  And  it  imports  an  amazing  amount  of  cor- 
ruption and  guilt  in  a  land,  when  it  is  proclaimed, that 
such  men  can  but  deliver  their  own  souls,  and  shall 
be  no  longer  the  instruments  to  convey  divine  bless- 
ings to  others. 

That  God  has  such  a  people  in  our  day,  a  seed  of 
grace  still  remaining  among  us,  is  an  assurance  of  un- 
speakable comfort.  The  death  of  the  last  servant  of 
God  among  a  people,  fills  up  their  history ;  completes 
the  purpose  of  God,  and  their  trial ;  and  they  who 
have  rejected  his  grace,  to  remain  finally  in  sin,  are 
rejected  by  him,  as  unjust,  to  remain  unjust  still. 
While  we  look  abroad  upon  the  abominations  which 
encompass  us  in  this  day  of  evil,  this  is  our  comfort 
in  the  house  of  our  affliction.  There  is  still  salt  in  the 
earth.  The  Lord  has  notlefthimself  without  witnesses. 
There  are  yet  in  the  land  many  precious,  praying  sons 
of  Sion,  comparable  unto  fine  gold,  each  one  of  whom, 
in  the  Lord's  esteem,  is  as  the  apple  of  an  eye. 

We  behold  the  misrule  of  intemperate  lusts  driving 
in  scathing  fire,  over  every  thing  which  is  honourable 
to  the  character  of  man,  and  indispensable  to  the 
good  order  of  society;  literally,  death  on  the  pale 
horse,  and  hell  following;  we  behold  drunkenness 
and  licentiousness  writhing  like  insatiable  serpents 
through  the  land,  and  feeding  daily  upon  more  vic- 
tims, than  the  crudest  superstition  on  the  earth  has 
ever  demanded ;  we  see  impiety  with  an  unblushing 
front,  setting  her  polluting  foot  upon  all  that  is  sacred 
in  the  institutions  of  the  Gospel,  trampling  down  the 
Bible  and  the  Sabbath,  sounding  abroad  with  a 
trumpet  her  blasphemies  against  God,  while  infidelity 


THE  PROTECTED  PEOPLE.  121 

stands  by,  and  claps  her  hands  in  triumph,  and  shouts 
encouragement  as  if  it  were  the  path  of  glory ;  and 
the  order,  and  the  interests,  and  the  happiness  of  man, 
fair  flowers  that  bloom  only  beneath  the  favour  of  the 
Most  High,  all  crashed  into  the  dust  behind,  like  the 
hard-trodden  surface  of  a  battle  field.  These  are 
the  abominations  of  men  around  us ;  so  overspread- 
ing, that  even  the  wise  men  of  this  world,  who  have 
connived  at  the  whole,  and  grown  rich  with  its  gains, 
begin  to  tremble  amidst  the  results  of  their  own  allow- 
ances, for  the  security  of  their  own  property  and  life. 

And  where,  amidst  all  this  anarchy  and  noise,  are 
the  people  of  the  living  God  ?  Has  the  whole  family 
of  man  gone  after  the  idols  of  sin  ?  Is  there  nothing 
left  to  show  what  man  under  a  better  dominion  might 
become  ?  Is  there  no  green  spot  in  the  desert,  as  a 
sample  of  what  blooms  and  flourishes  in  other  climes? 
O,  yes,  my  brethren,  thanks  be  to  God,  he  has  left  us 
a  remnant,  and  he  knoweth  them  that  are  his.  They 
are  described  in  our  text.  They  sigh  and  cry  for  the 
abominations  that  are  done.  In  the  secrecy  of  the 
closet,  amidst  the  little  social  circle  for  prayer,  in 
the  house  of  God,  the  eye  of  the  Lord  still  sees 
them ;  perhaps  unknown  and  unnoticed  by  the  world; 
and  he  says  of  each  of  them,  as  if  turning  off  his  at- 
tention from  apparently  greater  objects,  to  mark  them 
the  more  intently,  "  upon  this  man  will  I  look,  even 
the  man  who  is  poor  and  of  a  contrite  spirit,  and 
trembleth  at  my  word." 

These  people  of  God  have  not  sighed  in  listless 

idleness,    or  wept  tears  of  fearful  indolence,  without 

an  effort  to  stop  the  progress  of  man's  iniquity.     No. 

They  are  those  who  have  first  done  all  in  active  effort 

L  16 


[22  THE  PROTECTED  PEOPLE. 

which  they  could  do,  to  restrain  the  wickedness  of 
others ;  and  who  now,  while  they  are  mourning  for 
their  sins,  are  bearing  their  testimony  with  fidelity 
against  them.  They  are  not  partakers  of  other  men's 
sins.  They  do  not  join  with  them  in  unnecessary 
disturbances  of  the  holy  rest  of  the  Sabbath,  nor 
legalize  by  even  partial  indulgence  in  intoxicating 
drinks,  that  drunkenness  wherein  is  excess.  They 
withhold  their  hands  from  the  taking  of  bribes.  They 
will  not  gain  their  emolument  from  that  which  is  made 
the  instrument  of  dishonour  to  God  and  ruin  to  man. 
To  them  the  wealth  which  is  the  price  of  blood,  the 
gain  in  any  degree  of  breaking  God's  law,  is  an  ac- 
cursed thing.  They  will  not  touch  it.  They  do  not 
shrink  from  sight  behind  a  multitude,  nor  attempt  to 
cover  their  responsibility  with  the  plea,  that  they  are 
single  amidst  the  many,  and  that  their  influence  is 
therefore,  nothing.  They  stand  out  openly  for  God, 
and  for  the  truth  of  God,  though  unsupported  by  hu- 
man power,  and  discouraged  by  all  the  influence  of 
man.  And  if  they  can  do  nothing  by  active  effort, 
they  still  mourn  over  evils  which  they  cannot  cure. 
They  cannot  feel  or  profess  indiflference  to  the  con- 
duct and  condition  of  mankind.  Jealous  for  the 
honour  of  God,  happy  in  the  acceptance  of  a  Saviour, 
knowing  the  comforts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  believing 
the  revealed  responsibility  and  destiny  of  sinful  men, 
they  long  to  the  end  of  life,  for  the  salvation  of  the 
ungodly ;  and  sigh  and  cry  unto  God,  while  they  live, 
over  a  destruction  in  which  they  have  no  participa- 
tion, and  which  men  bring  wholly  upon  themselves. 
Siich  a  people  God  has  in  the  midst  of  a  v/orld  of 
sinners.     I  remark  secondly. 


THE  PROTECTED  PEOPLE.  123 

II.  This  people  are  entirely  protected  in  the  de- 
struction which  God  brings  upon  the  ungodly. 

"  Go,"  says  the  Lord  in  our  text,  "  set  a  mark 
upon  the  foreheads  of  the  men  that  sigh,  and  that  cry, 
for  nil  the  abominations  that  are  done  in  the  midst 
thereof;"  a  mark  which  shall  be  easily  discerned ;  a 
mark  by  which  they  shall  be  known  without  hesita- 
tion or  doubt.  What  this  mark  was  in  this  particular 
case,  it  matters  not  for  us.  The  fact  is  all  that  we  need. 
These  servants  of-  God  were  thus  marked.  Then 
says  God  to  the  destroyers,  "  Go  through  and  smite ; 
but  come  not  near  any  man  upon  wh  nu  is  the  mark." 

Thus  the  people  of  God  are  marked  and  sealed 
amidst  the  world  in  which  they  dwell;  and  God 
spares  them  in  the  hour  of  punishment,  as  a  man 
spareth  his  own  son  that  serveth  him.  It  is  not  ex- 
hibited as  a  mark  for  man's  discernment,  though  open 
as  it  was  upon  the  forehead,  it  need  not  be  concealed 
from  man.  But  it  was  to  guide  the  instruments  of 
death;  to  preserve  the  people  of  God  from  the  de- 
stroying weapons ;  and  to  constitute  the  evidence  of 
his  acceptance  of  them,  and  of  their  title  to  his  eternal 
favour.  Amidst  surrounding  ungodliness,  the  secret 
of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  him,  and  he  will 
hide  them  in  his  tabernacle,  until  the  danger  be  over- 
past. They  are  marked  by  his  infallible  determina- 
tion, and  are  sealed  by  his  Spirit  unto  the  day  of  re- 
demption. 

They  are  marked  in  their  conversion  unto  himself, 
having  been  begotten  again  of  an  incorruptible  seed, 
of  the  word  of  God,  by  the  Holy  Ghost;  and  they 
are  living  and  walking  in  the  Spirit.  They  are 
marked   by  their   increasing   separation  through  the 


1S4  THE  PROTECTED  PEOPLE. 

Spirit,  from  the  defilements  of  sin,  and  their  with- 
drawal from  the  secret  and  the  assembly  of  the  un- 
godly. They  are  marked  by  the  manifest  fruits  of 
the  Spirit,  the  holy  graces  which  spring  from  his 
operations  within  the  heart,  exhibiting  them  as  living 
to  God,  and  for  God,  among  men,  and  seeking  in  the 
meekness  of  wisdom,  to  bring  all  men  back  to  him. 
They  are  marked  by  the  prayers  which  ascend  night 
and  day  from  their  hearts  to  heaven,  cries  which  come 
into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth,  bringing  down 
his  blessings  upon  sinful  men,  and  turning  away  his 
anger  from  them.  They  are  marked  in  all  the  ap- 
pointed ordinances  of  his  house,  and  seek  in  all 
things,  to  know  what  he  would  have  them  to  do. 
They  will  be  found  abiding  in  the  communion  of  his 
church  ;  walking  in  the  light  of  his  word  ;  and 
honouring  him  in  their  glad  conformity  to  all  his  in- 
stitutions among  men  ;  rejoicing  there  to  dwell  where 
the  Lord  hath  established  his  blessing,  even  life  for- 
evermore.  Thus  God  knows,  and  makes  known  his 
people ;  not  by  their  assertion  of  privileges,  and  pro- 
fessed subjection  to  his  will  alone  ;  but  by  the  mani- 
fest and  undisputed  exhibition  of  that  holiness  of 
character  which  is  the  earnest  of  the  purchased  in- 
heritance, and  without  which  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord. 

Thus  marked,  they  are  entirely  protected  in  the 
hour  of  danger.  When  the  Lord  cometh  out  of  his 
place,  to  punish  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  for  their 
iniquity,  he  turneth  his  hand  upon  these  little  ones, 
and  shelters  them  in  the  cleft  of  the  rock,  from  the 
sorrows  which  compass  the  sinner  forever.  It  is  not 
from  earthly  troubles  that  they  are  protected.     These 


THE  PROTECTED  PEOPLE.         125 

form  no  discrimination  of  character ;  nor  are  they  the 
designed  punishments  for  human  sin.  The  genera- 
tion of  God's  children  have  often,  in  this  respect,  a 
measure  of  a  full  cup  poured  out  for  them.  But 
their  sufferings  are  precious  and  indispensable  bless- 
ings; and  they  are  the  happier  and  the  hoher  in  heaven, 
for  all  which  they  have  been  required  to  endure  upon 
the  earth. 

But  wlicn  God,  in  his  justice,  punishes  the  ungodly, 
and  makes  his  inquisition  for  guilt,  the  destroying 
angel  conies  not  near  a  man  upon  whom  is  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb.  In  the  temporal  visitations  which 
he  makes  for  sin,  when  kingdoms  and  communities 
are  desolated  and  overthrown  for  their  iniquity,  God 
selects  his  people,  and  shields  them  completely  from 
that  result  of  mortal  death  which  sin  produces ;  and 
makes  the  pestilence,  or  the  earthquake,  or  the  confla- 
gration, the  chariot  which  is  to  bear  them  up  to  glory. 
[t  becomes  a  blessing  to  them,  and  a  welcome  mes- 
senger from  God  to  their  souls.  Their  minds  are 
kept  in  perfect  peace,  because  they  are  stayed  upon 
him.  And  in  the  scenes  of  a  world  to  come,  when 
the  wickedness  of  the  ungodly  has  come  to  a  per- 
petual end,  he  will  establish  the  just.  No  despairing 
anguish  shall  arrest  them  upon  the  bed  of  death.  No 
biting  remorse  shall  attend  them  to  the  presence  of 
an  heart-searching  God.  No  pang  of  unpardoned 
guilt  shall  fester  in  their  bosom.  No  banishment 
from  the  Most  High  shall  clothe  their  souls  with 
darkness.  No  angry  spirits  shall  vex  them  on  to 
madness.  No  scorching  flames  shall  feed  upon  a 
soul  that  cannot  die.  God  says  to  all  the  messengers 
and  instruments  of  wrath,  "  Come  not  near  any  man 
l2 


126  THE  PROTECTED  PEOPLE. 

upon  whom  is  the  mark;"  and  the  law  stands  off,  and 
conscience  is  silenced,  and  guilt  hides  its  head,  and 
Satan  shrinks  away.  Known  by  the  mark  of  grace — 
grace  which  loved  them,  bought  them,  found  them, 
brought  them  back,  kept  them,  and  crowned  them — 
they  stand  before  God,  sanctified  and  secured.  Happy 
in  their  eternal  enjoyments.  Happy  in  all  their  earthly 
sorrows.  Happy,  peculiarly  in  this,  that  they  sighed 
and  cried  for  the  abominations  of  men,  in  their  zeal 
for  the  honour  of  the  Lord  of  hosts. 

The  text  leads  me  to  remark  thirdly, 

HI.  While  the  people  of  God  are  thus  distin- 
guished and  protected,  the  destruction  of  the  ungodly 
will  be  entire.  Their  abominations  long  forborne 
with,  are  at  last  brought  into  judgment ;  and  tribula- 
tion and  anguish  cometh  upon  every  soul  of  man  that 
doeth  evil.  Amidst  the  overspreading  of  sin  around 
us,  we  might  almost  be  tempted  unbelievingly  to  say, 
"the  Lord  seeth  not."  The  wicked  are  often  they 
who  seem  the  most  to  prosper  in  the  earth.  But  faith 
assures  us  that  the  Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigneth; 
and  though  sentence  against  an  evil  work  be  not  exe- 
cuted speedily,  nothing  is  forgotten  before  him,  and 
he  will  bring  every  secret  thing  into  judgment,  and 
fully  repay  them  that  hate  him.  The  punishment 
which  is  described  with  so  much  minuteness  in  our 
text,  is  a  full  illustration  of  his  final  dealings  with  the 
ungodly. 

Their  destruction  will  be  unsparing  and  without 
mercy.  "  Go  ye  after  him,  and  smite ;  let  not  your 
eye  spare,  neither  have  ye  pity."  The  hour  for  mer- 
ciful intercession  will  have  passed  by.  Long  has 
God  endeavoured  to  lead  them  to  repentance ;  long  has 


THE  PROTECTED  PEOPLE.  127 

the  Saviour  stood  waiting  to  receive  them ;  long  has 
the  divine  Spirit  exerted  himself  to  bring  tliem  back 
to  Christ.  And  while  all  this  was  passing,  they  might 
have  found  a  refuge  in  the  Gospel,  and  have  gained 
eternal  life.  But  now  the  dispensation  of  mercy  has 
been  closed,  and  they  are  left,  as  they  have  chosen  to 
be  left,  to  the  unbending  operation  of  law.  They  are 
to  stand  upon  their  own  ground.  Their  iniquities 
start  up,  a  resuscitated  multitude,  to  testify  against 
them.  Guilt,  like  a  millstone  around  their  necks, 
hangs  upon  their  souls.  And  unmitigated  wrath,  fol- 
lowing in  the  train  of  unerring  justice,  seizes  upon 
them,  as  its  portion  forever.  No  circumstance  alle- 
viates or  lessens  the  ruin  which  sin  has  brought  upon 
them.  No  eye  pities,  and  no  arm  interposes  for  their 
good.  They  die  without  mercy.  They  perish  with- 
out redemption.     They  are  destroyed  forever. 

Their  destruction  will  be  an  universal  one.  None 
who  bear  the  burden  of  unpardoned  sin  can  in  any 
wise  escape.  "  Slay  utterly,  old  and  young,  both 
maids,  and  little  children,  and  women."  All  who 
have  partaken  in  the  abominations  of  sin,  must  share 
also  in  the  misery  which  impenitent  sin  entails.  No 
age,  or  character,  or  circumstances,  among  sinners, 
who  are  alike  unconverted,  can  be  urged  in  arrest  of 
judgment,  or  be  allowed  to  turn  aside  the  punishment 
of  transgression.  The  daring  violator  of  holy  things, 
the  man  who  has  sinned  with  determination  and 
power  in  the  world,  shall  find  no  defence  against  the 
destroying  weapon  of  the  Most  High.  The  secret, 
gilded  transgressor,  who  was  known  in  his  iniquities 
to  none  but  himself  and  God,  shall  be  dragged  from 
his  hiding-place,  and  be  made  to  feel  the  holy,  search- 


128  THE  PROTECTED  PEOPLE. 

ing  power  of  the  wrath  of  God.  No  veneration  shall 
be  paid  to  aged  guilt,  nor  any  tenderness  be  indulged 
to  more  youthful  transgression.  Families  who  are 
now  entailing  the  example  and  the  influence  of  irre- 
ligion  and  vice  upon  their  posterity,  shall  find  l»hat 
they  have  sent  down  with  it  a  scorching  stream  of 
vengeance  and  suffering.  God  will  not  be  mocked. 
And  vn  hiitever  softening  appellations  men  may  give  to 
their  iniquities,  when  God  lays  judgment  to  the  line, 
and  rigliteousness  to  the  plummet,  all  will  vanish  and 
be  forgotten.  Sin  will  stand  out  in  its  own  naked- 
ness, and  will  eat  into  the  souls  of  ungodly  men,  as  it 
were  fire. 

This  destruction  will  begin  with  those  who  are 
most  highly  favoured  with  religious  privileges.  "Begin 
at  my  sanctuary,"  says  the  Lord  to  the  angels  of  de- 
struction. No  circumstance  can  extenuate  impeni- 
tent guilt.  But  there  are  many  to  aggravate  the 
enormities  of  transgression.  They  who  have  sinned 
under  the  law,  shall  be  judged  by  the  law,  is  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  Scriptures.  They  who  know  the  Lord's 
will,  and  do  commit  things  worthy  of  stripes,  shall  be 
beaten  with  many  stripes.  "Judgment  must  begin 
at  the  house  of  God,"  says  the  apostle  Peter,  as  if  in 
reference  to  this  very  passage  of  our  text.  Neither 
the  pulpit  nor  the  sanctuary ;  neither  profession  nor 
self-complacency  shall  afford  protection  to  the  sin- 
ner's soul.  O,  how  alarming  to  the  man  who  covers 
actual  iniquity  with  the  garment  of  piety  in  profes- 
sion ;  to  the  man  who  has  enriched  himself  by  minis- 
tering ruin  to  others ;  to  the  man  who  may  number 
his  gains  and  honours  by  the  wretched  souls  he  has 
led  forward   to  eternal   despair;   and   yet  professes 


THE  PROTECTED  PEOPLE.  129 

himself  to  have  done  no  harm ;  is  the  command  of  Al- 
mighty God,  "Begin  at  my  sanctuary!"  There  is 
no  respect  of  persons  before  the  tribunal  of  the  living 
God.  The  hypocrite  shall  be  unveiled;  the  false 
professor  shall  be  exhibited  as  he  is ;  the  self-right- 
eous man  shall  be  held  up  to  view  in  his  own  deformi- 
ties ;  and  unrepented  sin  shall  every  where  see  the 
destroying  weapon,  with  an  irreversible  energy,  coming 
upon  itself. 

This  destruction  shall  spare  only  those  who  have 
been  marked.  "  Come  not  near  any  man  upon  whom 
is  the  mark."  An  unconverted  soul  is  guilty  in  the 
mere  fact,  that  it  is  an  unconverted  soul.  "  All  who 
are  not  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life,  shall  be 
cast  into  the  lake  of  fire."  Amidst  the  privileges 
which  men  have  enjoyed,  they  are  without  excuse  in 
their  sins.  And  when  God  has  numbered  up  all  his 
people ;  and  received  and  blessed  all  who  would  re- 
turn to  him,  the  residue  are  left  to  perish  in  tlieir 
guilt.  0,  my  brethren,  it  has  been  long  your  duty  to 
return  unitedly  to  God,  and  to  gain  his  indelible  mark 
of  grace,  in  the  full  restoration  of  your  souls  to  him, 
by  humbly  coming  to  the  Lord  Jesus  for  pardon  and 
righteousness.  That  any  of  you  are  without  the 
Lamb's  mark,  is  wholly  upon  your  own  responsibility. 
None  other  can  bear  the  blame.  But  being  so,  you 
must  look  forward  with  certainty  to  the  fact,  that 
destruction  awaits  the  unrenewed  soul.  The  man 
who  is  not,  by  his  own  choice  and  act,  spiritually  and 
wholly,  on  the  side  of  Jesus,  is  certainly  opposed  to 
him ;  and  must  reap  the  harvest  which  he  has  sown 
for  himself. 

17 


130         THE  PROTECTED  PEOPLE. 

In  the  midst  of  this  unsparing,  universal  destruc- 
tion of  all  who  have  not  the  Saviour's  mark,  where 
will  my  present  hearers  stand  ?  My  brethren,  what 
side  have  you  taken  in  God's  great  controversy  with 
sin,  and  sinful  men?  Where  among  you,  are  the 
men  who  sigh  and  cry  for  the  abominations  which 
they  see?  who  are  zealous  for  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
of  hosts  ?  O,  allow  not  judgment  to  come  upon  you 
without  mercy;  nor  the  blessings  of  the  glorious 
Gospel  to  testify  against  your  souls !  See  to  it,  that 
you  are  bearing  about  with  you,  the  marks  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ;  that  you  have  a  conscious,  as- 
sured interest  in  his  perfect  righteousness ;  that  you 
may  stand  with  him  in  white  among  his  people,  when 
he  cometh  to  judge  the  earth ;  rescued  from  his  dis- 
pleasure, and  partakers  of  his  glory.  Make  clear 
and  evident  your  title  in  him,  to  the  kingdom  which 
he  has  prepared ;  and  be  sure,  that  you  fall  not  into 
the  hands  of  the  living  God,  with  the  fearful,  eternal 
burden  of  unpardoned  guilt  upon  your  souls. 


IX. 


THE    RESCUED    BRAND. 


ZfiCHARiAH  iii.  2. — Is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  fire? 

This  is  the  divine  description  of  a  justified  and 
converted  man.  It  is  contained  in  a  few  words,  but 
they  are  words  of  an  exceedingly  comprehensive  im- 
port. They  present  at  once  to  our  view,  the  sinner's 
worthless  character  by  nature,  his  dangerous  and 
dreadful  condition  while  in  this  natural  state,  and  the 
fulness  of  unmerited  grace  and  love  of  which  he  has 
been  made  the  subject.  It  is  under  this  view  of  its 
meaning,  that  I  present  the  text  to  your  consideration. 

The  Lord  had  sent  his  angel  to  instruct  the  prophet 
in  his  captivity,  by  many  figurative  representations  in 
regard  to  his  dispensations  with  his  people.  The  en- 
couragements and  consolations  which  were  given  to 
him  for  them,  are  not  to  be  limited  in  their  applica- 
tion to  the  Jewish  nation,  then  on  the  eve  of  their 
return  from  Babylon,  but  belong  also  to  the  people 
of  God  in  every  age,  and  in  every  land.  In  the  vision 
from  which  the  words  of  our  text  are  selected,  the 
prophet  says,  "  he  showed  me  Joshua,  the  high  priest, 

131 


132  THE    RESCUED    BRAND. 

standing  before  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  and  Satan 
standing  at  his  right  hand  to  resist  him.  And  the 
Lord  said  unto  Satan,  the  Lord  rebuke  thee,  O  Sa- 
tan; even  the  Lord  that  hath  chosen  Jerusalem,  re- 
buke thee ;  is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the 
fire  ?  Now  Joshua  was  clothed  with  filthy  garments, 
and  stood  before  the  angel.  And  he  answered,  and 
spake  unto  those  that  stood  before  him,  saying,  Take 
away  the  filthy  garments  from  him.  And  unto  him 
he  said,  Behold,  I  have  caused  thine  iniquity  to  pass 
from  thee,  and  I  will  clothe  thee  with  change  of  rai- 
ment. And  I  said.  Let  them  set  a  fair  mitre  on  his 
head.  So  they  set  a  fair  mitre  upon  his  head,  and 
clothed  him  with  garments.  And  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  protested  unto  Joshua,  saying.  Thus  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  If  thou  wilt  walk  in  my  ways,  and  if 
thou  wilt  keep  my  charge,  then  thou  shalt  also  judge 
my  house,  and  shalt  also  keep  my  courts,  and  I  will 
give  thee  places  to  walk  among  these  that  stand  by. 
Hear  now,  0  Joshua,  the  high  priest,  thou  and  thy 
fellows  that  sit  before  thee ;  for  they  are  men  won- 
dered at."  Joshua  was  here  the  representative  of 
all  the  true  people  of  God.  Like  him,  they  are  all 
"brands  plucked  out  of  the  fire."  Against  them  all, 
the  same  power  of  Satan  is  employed  to  resist  them. 
In  behalf  of  them  all,  the  same  boundless  grace  is 
exercised  on  the  part  of  the  Lord  God. 

The  angel  of  the  Lord,  or  Jehovah-Angel,  before 
whom  Joshua  stood,  is  the  great  Mediator  between 
God  and  man,  who  is  frequently  presented  to  us  under 
this  title,  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  who  is  called  in 
this  passage,  according  to  the  uniform  habit  of  the 
Scriptures,  both  Jehovah-Angel,  and  Jehovah  simply. 


THE    RESCUED    BRAND.  133 

This  glorious  Mediator,  the  Jehovah  who  has  been 
sent  as  a  messenger  to  man,  is  our  righteous  Advo- 
cate with  God.  He  opposes  and  destroys,  by  his  in- 
tercession, the  resistance  of  Satan  to  our  acceptance 
with  him.  He  plucks  us  by  his  Spirit,  as  brands  out 
of  the  fire  of  merited  condemnation  and  punishment. 
He  takes  away  the  filthy  garments  of  sin  in  its  guilt, 
by  his  atonement;  and  in  its  corruption,  by  his  sancti- 
fying Spirit.  He  causes  the  iniquity  of  his  people  to 
pass  from  them,  having  himself  borne  its  penalty  for 
tliem.  He  clothes  them  in  his  own  righteousness  im- 
puted unto  them,  with  a  change  of  pure,  heavenly, 
and  imperishable  raiment.  He  urges  in  his  opposi- 
tion to  the  great  adversary  of  man,  the  accuser  of  his 
saints,  the  arguments  which  arise  from  the  fulness  of 
divine  grace  and  power.  The  free  mercy  of  God,  as 
exhibited  in  plucking  the  brand  out  of  the  fire,  and  in 
choosing  his  people  for  his  own  habitation,  furnishes 
his  rebuke  of  the  malicious  enemy;  "the  Lord  rebuke 
thee,  O  Satan ;  even  the  Lord  that  hath  chosen  Je- 
rusalem, rebuke  thee ;  is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  out 
of  the  fire?" 

Thus  the  Mediator  silenced  the  accusations  of  the 
enemy,  and  condemned  the  tongue  which  rose  in 
judgment  against  his  servant ;  and  then  he  manifested 
the  power  of  his  grace,  in  converting,  sanctifying,  and 
saving  his  accused  disciple.  "  He  answered,  and 
spake  to  those  who  stood  before  him,"  the  angels 
who  are  sent  out  as  ministering  spirits  to  the  heirs  of 
salvation,  "  take  away  the  filthy  garments  from  him." 
And  then  to  the  penitent  and  thankful  believer  before 
him,  he  said,  in  terms  of  most  encouraging  compas- 
sion, "  behold,  I  have  caused  thine  iniquity  to  pass 
M 


134  THE    RESCUED    BRAND. 

from  thee,  and  I  will  clothe  thee  with  a  change  of  rai- 
ment ;  and  if  thou  wilt  walk  in  my  ways,  and  keep 
my  charge,  I  will  give  thee  a  place  to  walk  among 
these  that  stand  by." 

How  striking  and  admirable  is  the  illustration 
which  is  here  presented  of  the  grace  of  God  in  the 
salvation  of  sinful  men !  How  significant  is  the  de- 
scription which  is  given  of  the  character  and  condi- 
tion of  those  who  have  obtained  his  mercy,  and  are 
set  forth  as  patterns  of  divine  long-suffering!  "Is 
not  this  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  fire  ?"  This 
RESCUED  BRAND  fumishes  our  subject  for  discourse. 

I.  How  unprofitable  and  worthless  in  itself!  A 
brand !  useless  for  any  purposes  of  man;  having  no 
value  annexed  to  it  in  his  estimation.  Is  not  every 
unrenewed  sinner  precisely  this  in  the  sight  of  God  ? 
If  he  be  rescued  from  the  punishment  which  his  sins 
deserve,  it  is  not  for  any  worth  which  is  seen  in  him, 
or  for  any  benefit  which  can  subsequently  arise 
from  him.  As  a  fallen  creature,  man  cannot  be  pro- 
fitable unto  God.  In  the  pure  and  discriminating  eye 
of  his  Almighty  Maker,  he  is  a  broken  vessel,  wherein 
is  no  pleasure.  He  is  clothed  in  the  hateful  garments 
of  repeated  and  long  continued  guilt.  From  the  head 
to  the  foot,  he  is  a  poor,  diseased,  and  ruined  being, 
without  any  claim  upon  the  mercy  of  his  God. 

It  is  true  that  no  creature  can  ever  render  any 
thing  to  the  Creator,  which  shall  merit  a  continuance 
of  blessings  bestowed  by  him.  The  highest  heavenly 
being  has  received  from  God's  free  gift,  the  power  to 
obey  him;  and  is  as  much  bound  to  exercise  that 
power  to  the  uttermost  in  his  service,  as  the  meanest 
creature  upon  the  earth.     He  lives  upon  the  kindness 


THE    RESCUED   BRAND.  135 

of  the  Almighty,  and  by  that  he  is  upheld  continually. 
The  Creator  may  delight  in  his  own  image  impressed 
upon  the  work  of  his  hands ;  but  that  creature,  though 
perfect  and  without  transgression,  can  render  back 
nothing  which  shall  be  a  claim  upon  God.  But  how 
completely  unprofitable  and  worthless  is  sinful  and 
polluted  man  1  Depraved  in  voluntary  rebellion, 
ruined  by  continued  guilt,  what  ground  has  he  for 
claim,  even  upon  the  compassion  of  his  Maker  ?  His 
very  birth  constituted  him  a  child  of  wrath.  Sin  has 
perverted  and  corrupted  him  from  the  beginning  of 
his  life.  He  has  followed  the  inherent  propensities 
of  his  polluted  nature,  through  every  period  of  his 
life.  He  has  thus  accumulated  upon  his  soul,  a  bur- 
den of  wrath  which  he  cannot  bear. 

God,  indeed,  beholds  him  with  pity,  cast  out  as  he 
is,  and  perishing  in  his  blood.  He  has  compassion 
upon  him,  though  so  ruined  and  unprofitable.  From 
the  fulness  of  his  grace,  which  has  respect  to  his 
own  glory  alone,  and  regards  not  the  worthiness  of 
the  object  upon  which  it  is  exercised,  which  is  as 
much  beyond  the  comprehension  of  man,  as  it  is  be- 
yond his  desert,  he  plucks  the  brand  from  the  burn- 
ing, and  transforms  the  child  of  wrath  into  a  child  of 
God. 

This  affecting  illustration  of  man's  unworthiness, 
is  of  universal  application.  We  are  all_,  by  nature, 
these  worthless  brands.  In  how  many  instances  we 
have  been  personally  rescued  from  merited  destruc- 
tion, God  only  knows.  O,  that  you  might  all  be 
made  to  feel  the  truth  of  this  representation  of  your 
sinful  character;  and  to  look  back  upon  the  guilty 
lives  which   you   have   passed  without  God   in  the 


136  THE    RESCUED   BRAND. 

world,  with  deep  humiliation  and  sorrow!  You  can 
have  no  hope  until  you  do  feel  this ;  until  you  have 
cast  out  of  your  minds,  every  vain  idea  of  human 
merit  or  excellence ;  until  you  have  been  humbled 
under  the  conviction  of  the  weight  of  your  actual 
sins ;  until  you  are  thus  willing  to  lay  yourselves  in 
the  dust,  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  the  great  Mediator  for 
man,  to  supplicate  the  bestowal  of  his  unmerited 
mercy  and  kindness,  relinquishing  all  selfish  hope  and 
confidence,  and  thankfully  receiving  the  salvation  of 
your  souls,  as  the  free  gift  of  God  through  the  right- 
eousness of  his  Son,  to  the  lost  and  perishing. 

11.  Consider  this  brand  again.  How  dangerous 
was  the  condition  in  which  it  was  found !  The  fire 
from  which  it  was  plucked,  has  not  reference,  in  its 
application  to  the  sinner's  condition,  to  the  many  pre- 
sent trials  and  sorrows  which  come  to  him  as  the  re- 
sult of  his  transgression,  so  much  as  to  those  ever- 
lasting burnings  which  are  his  heritage  in  a  world  of 
recompense.  All  earthly  woes  are  temporary.  These 
sorrows  are  unchangeable  and  eternal.  Time  may 
often  repair  the  injuries  which  earthly  sufferings  pro- 
duce. Eternity  will  not  renew  the  soul  which  has 
been  destroyed  under  the  condemnation  of  sin.  No 
fears  of  man,  however  awakened  his  conscience  may 
become,  can  magnify  the  dangers  and  miseries  which 
attend  this  everlasting  banishment  from  God. 

Under  this  tremendous  load,  the  unconverted  sin- 
ner lies,  condemned  and  perishing,  as  a  brand  burn- 
ing in  the  fire.  The  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him. 
In  every  passing  moment  of  his  life,  there  is  but  a 
step  between  him  and  that  death  which  will  bring 
down  this  wrath  upon  him  to  the  uttermost.     He  has 


THE    RESCUED   BRAND.  137 

made  himself  an  enemy  to  God  by  wicked  works. 
He  has  heaped  curses,  like  coals  of  fire,  upon  his  own 
head,  l)y  continued  transgression.  He  has  wrapped 
the  poisoned  garment  of  condemnation  around  his 
own  soul,  by  his  choice  of  a  state  of  separation 
from  God.  And  yet  amidst  all  these  fearful  dangers 
which  surround  him,  he  Hatters  himself  with  the 
hope,  that  though  he  never  turn  to  God,  he  shall  have 
peace  in  his  latter  end. 

O,  my  brethren,  could  the  unconverted  portion  of 
my  present  hearers  but  have  a  view  of  their  sinful 
character  and  ruined  state,  as  they  are  beheld  by  the 
eye  of  the  Almighty;  could  they  behold  the  wages 
which  the  guilt  of  their  own  transgressions  is  preparing 
for  them ;  how  soon  would  it  stain  the  pride  of  their 
glory,  sour  all  the  pleasures  which  disobedience  can 
give,  and  kindle  up  the  fires  of  deep  remorse  and 
bitter  anxiety  in  their  breasts !  But,  alas,  ungodly 
men  see  nothing  of  their  true  characters,  or  of  their 
real  condition;  and  apprehend  nothing  of  the  dangers 
which  actually  surround  them.  They  are  pressing 
forward,  heedless  amidst  a  thousand  warnings,  plant- 
ing every  footstep  upon  some  concealed  entrance  to  a 
world  of  woe,  and  yet  as  unconcerned  in  regard  to 
the  alarming  fact,  that  they  are  condemned  already, 
as  full  of  confidence  in  the  safe  result  of  their  mad 
experiment,  as  if  the  shining  light  of  heaven  were 
certainly  and  openly  leading  them  on  to  glory.  They 
walk  in  the  blindness  of  their  inexperienced  and 
unbelieving  hearts,  alienated  from  the  life  of  God, 
through  the  ignorance  that  is  in  them. 

None  can  truly  appreciate  the  dangers  of  an  un- 
converted soul,  but  they  who  have  been  plucked  from 
m2  18 


138  THE    RESCUED    BRAND. 

the  fires  in  which  it  is  still  consuming.  If  you  have 
been  with  Jonah  in  the  midst  of  the  seas ;  if  you 
have  felt  the  burden  of  a  guilty  conscience,  charged 
with  treading  under  your  feet  God's  dear  Son ;  if 
you  have  found  yourselves  struggling  in  the  very 
mouth  of  the  pit,  without  the  power  or  the  hope  of 
restoration ;  if  you  have  felt  a  deep  conviction  of 
God's  just  anger  against  your  sins ;  you  know  some- 
thing of  the  condition  of  the  man  who  is  ruined  by 
transgression,  a  brand  still  burning  in  the  fire.  No 
representations  of  the  danger  of  this  condition  are 
then  beyond  your  own  conviction  of  the  fact;  no 
warnings  appear  to  you  too  solemn,  no  exhortations 
seem  to  be  too  earnest,  no  expressions  too  strong, 
which  are  addressed  to  sinners,  to  persuade  them  to 
flee  from  the  wrath  to  come.  How  wonderful  is  that 
grace  and  power,  which  can  rescue  such  brands  from 
such  burnings  !  which  can  bring  men  from  these  fear- 
ful consequences  of  their  own  guilt,  to  the  glorious 
liberty  and  blessedness  of  the  family  of  God ! 

III.  Consider  this  brand  again.  How  glorious  and 
worthy  of  praise,  is  that  divine  power  which  can 
pluck  it  from  the  fire,  and  transform  it  into  an  eternal 
monument  of  love,  and  a  vessel  of  everlasting  holi- 
ness !  In  the  midst  of  the  ruin  of  the  world,  and  the 
guilt  of  man,  God  proposes  to  the  ungodly  a  reconci- 
liation to  himself.  He  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the 
world  unto  himself.  But  after  he  makes  his  gracious 
proposition,  men  still  draw  back,  and  refuse  the  mercy 
which  is  so  abundantly  provided.  The  only  begotten 
Son  of  God  is  set  up  as  the  great  Mediator  for  their 
souls,  in  whom  are  hid  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom 
and  love.     But  sinners  will  not  come  unto  him,  that 


THE    RESCUED    BRAND.  139 

they  may  have  life.  Here  then,  is  displayed  the 
power  and  plans  of  Almighty  grace.  The  Holy  Spirit 
comes  with  his  divine  energy ;  reveals  to  the  sinner 
his  awful  guilt ;  gives  him  a  godly  sorrow  for  his  sin ; 
takes  away  his  rebellious  dispositions;  and  inclines 
his  will,  long  perverted  by  transgression,  to  embrace 
and  obey  the  glorified  Saviour.  He  takes  away  from 
him  the  polluted  garments  in  which  he  has  been 
clothed ;  destroys  his  spirit  of  hostility  to  God ; 
covers  him  witli  the  garments  of  salvation,  and  the 
robe  of  righteousness ;  and  restores  him,  finally,  to 
the  Lord  who  has  bought  him  with  a  price.  God 
thus  passes  by  the  sinner's  guilt,  and  freely  bestows 
upon  him,  the  ability  to  obey,  and  to  glorify  him.  He 
does  not  look  to  the  worthiness  of  the  sinner,  nor  to 
his  capacity  to  serve  him,  for  he  does  not  need  him. 
But,  moved  by  his  own  purposes  of  love,  according 
to  the  riches  of  his  mercy,  he  visits  him  when  he  is 
dead  in  sin,  rescues  him  from  destruction  and  despair, 
and  owns  him  as  one  of  his  jewels — his  eternal  pos- 
session. 

If  our  attention  should  be  turned  only  to  the  un- 
worthiness  of  sinful  man,  or  to  the  danger  in  which 
his  guilt  has  placed  him,  we  might  well  ask,  who 
can  cause  this  wilderness  to  blossom  as  the  rose, 
or  make  the  tongue  of  the  dumb  to  sing?  Certainly 
no  created  power  can  do  it ;  no  freedom  of  the  human 
will;  no  remnant  of  strength  in  the  depraved  heart 
of  man.  But  God  can  say  to  the  mountain  of  human 
guilt,  that  before  his  transforming,  conquering  Spirit, 
it  shall  become  a  plain.  He  can  change  the  brand 
into  a  living  stone,  and  build  it  up  in  that  everlasting 
temple,  which  is  enlightened  by  the  presence   and 


140  THE    RESCUED   BRAND. 

glory  of  the  liamb.  He  would  have  us  despair  under 
no  accumulation  of  guilt.  He  would  have  us  never 
doubt,  that  the  dead  may  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son 
of  God,  and  live.  He  has  laid  help  on  one  mighty  to 
save.  Whatever  danger  there  is  in  the  sin  of  man, 
there  is  a  corresponding  sufficient  antidote  in  the 
obedience  and  power  of  Christ.  His  unsearchable 
riches  of  grace  supply  our  deep  poverty.  His  infi- 
nite power  is  made  perfect  in  our  weakness.  Though 
the  sinner's  condition  be  one  of  entire  ruin,  the  pro- 
visions of  Gospel  grace  are  more  than  adequate 
for  all  his  wants.  Wherein  his  adversaries  arc  lofty, 
God  is  higher  than  they.  Until  the  inestimable  blood 
of  the  Lamb  sliall  become  without  value,  and  the 
perfect  r.gl.teousness  of  the  great  High  Priest  be 
found  defective,  and  the  accuser  transcend  the  Advo- 
cate in  power,  and  grace  which  is  unsearchable  be- 
come exhausted,  no  unworthiness,  no  dangers  of  sin- 
M  men,  shall  interpose  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  the 
provisions  of  divine  redemption,  or  the  power  of 
God's  new  creating  Spirit. 

IV.  Consider  this  rescued  brand  again.  How  in- 
finite is  the  extent  of  that  love,  of  which  it  is  the  ob- 
ject !  While  we  admire  the  grace  which  can  give  a 
brightness  above  the  sun  to  a  thing  so  unprofitable, 
we  may  equally  adore  the  compassion  which  is  will- 
ing to  exert  itself  upon  an  object  so  degraded  and 
low.  The  foundation  of  all  our  hope  is,  that  God's 
love  is  infinite  and  free.  We  do  hot,  we  cannot  first 
give  to  him,  that  he  may  render  to  us  again.  We 
turn  to  him,  we  are  converted  and  healed,  not  because 
he  sees  any  thing  in  us  which  is  desirable  or  useful  in 
his  estimation ;  but  as  the  mere  effect  of  his  absolute 


THE    RESCUED    BRAND.  141 

and  unsearchable  mercy.  We  learn  to  love  him  be- 
cause he  first  loved  us.  Should  God  ever  measure 
his  love  to  man,  by  man's  fruitfulness  to  him,  how 
vrretchcd  vv^ould  be  our  prospect !  how  entire  our 
want  of  a  foundation  for  hope  !  We  might  reasonably 
stumble  at  the  very  threshold  of  his  requisitions,  and 
sit  down,  at  once,  the  victims  of  final  despair.  The 
glorious  prospect  which  is  held  out  in  his  word,  we 
could  see  indeed.  The  city,  the  temple,  the  paradise 
of  God  might  cxiiibit  to  us  all  their  attractions  and  all 
their  worth ;  but  there  would  be  the  sad  conviction 
left  upon  our  minds,  that  they  were  beyond  our  reach. 
The  invitations  and  promises  of  God  would  but  mock 
our  weakness  and  our  wants,  for  this  gulf  of  human 
unworthiness  and  impotency  would  remain  impassable 
forever. 

How  full  of  encourag:ement  and  comfort  is  the  re- 
flection, that  God  is  willing  to  exercise  his  almighty 
power  in  oar  behalf!  His  love  can  pardon  the  greatest 
and  the  most  multiplied  transgressions.  He  who 
spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  freely  delivered  him  up 
for  us  all,  will  with  him  also,  freely  give  us  all  things. 
What  then  though  man  be  ruined  and  an  outcast? 
What  though  he  be  forfeited  to  God's  avenging  jus- 
tice ?  What  though  Satan  accuse  him  of  uncounted 
transgressions,  and  everlasting  death  assert  its  claim 
to  the  victim  of  disobedience  ?  If  he  can  be  made  to 
feel  his  want,  and  to  look  up  in  prayer  to  God,  as  to  a 
Being  of  unbounded  love,  there  is  hope  even  for  a 
brand.  There  is  a  healing  power  in  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness, which  can  restore  his  soul,  and  enable  him 
to  rejoice  in  the  everlasting  riches  of  divine  mercy. 
Thus  God  displays  the  boundless  extent  and  opera- 


142  THE    RESCUED   BRAND. 

tion  of  his  love  to  man,  contriving  first,  the  way  in 
whicli  the  sinner  may  be  saved ;  bestowing  then,  the 
gift  which  rendered  this  salvation  possible ;  applying 
the  blood  of  sprinkling,  the  garment  of  righteousness, 
and  the  renewing  Spirit,  to  render  this  salvation  se- 
cure forever.  The  dangers  of  man  arise  from  him- 
self. His  safety  and  deliverance  come  wholly  from 
the  power  which  can,  and  the  love  which  will,  pluck 
the  brand  from  the  fire,  to  manifest  the  unspeakable 
goodness  and  glory  of  God.  And  to  God  alone, 
belongs  the  confidence  which  we  repose  in  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  undertaking,  and  the  praise  which  we 
render,  when  the  work  is  done. 

V.  Consider  this  brand  once  more.  How  precious 
is  the  Christian's  ground  of  hope,  the  glorious  union 
of  divine  power  and  divine  love,  in  the  work  of  his 
salvation  !  From  the  beginning  unto  the  end  of  this 
gracious  work,  he  rests  undividedly  upon  him,  whose 
mercy  rescued  him  from  ruin,  and  who  is  able  to  keep 
him  from  falling,  and  to  present  him  before  the  throne 
of  his  glory  with  exceeding  joy.  If  we  were  to  be 
saved  by  our  own  righteousness,  or  in  any  degree  in 
proportion  to  our  ov/n  righteousness,  a  total  want  of 
merit  would  condemn  us  altogether.  But  where 
every  thing  is  of  grace,  a  free  gift,  in  a  simple,  cordial 
reliance  upon  what  God  the  Saviour  has  done  for  us, 
there  salvation  is  made  sure.  Past  mercies  accepted 
and  improved,  are  pledges  of  far  greater  ones  to  come. 
If  we  grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  by  a  voluntary  rejec- 
tion of  his  power ;  if  we  labour  to  improve  his  visita- 
tions, and  to  glorify  him  in  the  duties  of  holy  obe- 
ence,  he  will  carry  on  unto  perfection  the  work  which 
he  commences,  and  for  which   he  is  sent  upon  us. 


THL"    RESCUED    BRAND.  143 

The  same  hand  which  phicked  us  from  the  fire  will 
carry  us  to  the  temple.  He  who  laid  the  foundation, 
in  his  love  from  everlasting,  will  also  bring  forth  the 
headstone,  with  everlasting  shoutings  to  his  grace. 
Having  changed  the  sinner's  garments,  and  given  him 
new  and  lieavenly  raiment,  in  the  place  of  the  filthy 
garments,  in  which  his  sins  had  clothed  him,  the  Lord 
says  unto  him,  "  If  thou  wilt  now  walk  in  my  ways, 
and  keep  my  charge,  I  will  give  thee  a  place  to  walk 
among  these  that  stand  by."  He  shall  be  equal 
unto  the  angels,  and  shall,  with  them,  surround  the 
throne,  and  enjoy  the  presence  of  his  God.  Here  is 
a  plan  which  renders  the  Christian's  hope  perfectly 
secure.  God  comforts  him  under  all  afflictions ;  arms 
him  in  every  conflict ;  silences  every  adversary;  and 
makes  him  victorious  over  all  things  that  war  against 
the  soul.  The  man  who  has  found  peace  with  God, 
has  no  enemy  in  the  universe  to  fear.  He  who  has 
delivered  his  soul  from  death,  will  keep  his  feet  from 
falling,  and  his  eyes  from  tears,  and  enable  him  to 
walk  before  God  in  the  land  of  the  living.  He  will 
carry  him  in  safety  through  the  changes  of  a  mortal 
life.  He  will  protect  him  in  perfect  peace,  through 
the  dark  hours  of  dissolution.  He  will  welcome  him 
in  heaven  with  immortal  bliss. 

VI.  How  inestimable  is  this  privilege  of  being  the 
objects  of  God's  unchangeable  love !  of  having  our 
names  written  in  his  book  of  life,  and  of  receiving  in 
the  daily  supplies  of  his  Spirit,  an  earnest  that  we 
shall  never  perish,  and  that  no  one  shall  pluck  us  out 
of  his  hand  !  These  are  the  privileges  of  the  justified 
and  converted  man.  This  is  the  portion  of  his  cup, 
and  this  is  his  inheritance  forever. 


144  THE    RESCUED    BRAND. 

These  are  privileges,  my  brethren,  which  you  all 
need ;  for  which  you  will  all  at  some  time  seek ;  for 
which,  while  they  are  now  rejected,  many  of  you  in 
future  years  may  sigh  in  vain.   Why  then  should  any  of 
you  cast  away  the  pearl  of  great  price  ?     Why  should 
you  reject  that  friend,  Y\'ho  is  the  chief  among  ten 
thousand,  and  altogether  desirable  and  lovely  ?     You 
will  feel  the  want  of  his  presence  in  your  hours  of 
trial.     You  will  see  your  need  of  his  power  to  advo- 
cate and  save,  when  you  stand  before  the  throne  of 
God;  when  a  thousand  witnesses  of  your  guilt  are 
at  your  right  hand  to  accuse  and  to  resist  you,  while 
there  is  no  shelter  for  you  from  the  punishment  of 
sin.     You  will  realize  the   misery  of  being  brands 
left  in  the  fire,  when  the  purposes  of  divine  grace 
have  been  all  completed,  and  heaven  has  received  its 
innumerable  company  of  ransomed  souls,  all  of  whom 
have  been  plucked  from  the  ruin  which  sin  brought 
upon  them  as  upon  you,  while  you  yourselves  are  cast 
out.     Why  then  will  you  not  now  be  persuaded  to 
feel  and  own  your  unworthiness  and  guilt,  to  suppli- 
cate the  mercy  of  God,  to  seek  for  the  salvation  which 
is  so  freely  offered  to  your  acceptance?    Behold,  how 
many  around  you  have  been  plucked  out  of  the  fire, 
rescued  from  the  punishment  of  sin,  redeemed  from 
the  everlasting  condemnation  which  awaited  all !     0, 
do  not  suffer  yourselves  to  be  left  to  perish !     The 
divine  power  and  love  is  abundant  for  the  conversion 
of  every  soul.     God  is  willing  that  you  should  all  be 
saved,  and  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.     Do 
not  then  persevere  in  the  rejection  of  his  goodness, 
provoking  the  exercise  of  his  wrath.     You  know  not 
how  near  to  you,  may  be  the  hour  of  recompense,  the 


THE   RESCUED   BRAND.  145 

last  point  of  divine  forbearance.  See  how  many 
around  you  have  been  sealed  for  final  condemnation. 
They  are  given  up  to  the  hardness  of  an  impenitent 
heart,  and  are  ready  to  be  delivered  over  to  the  ven- 
geance of  eternal  fire.  O,  prize  your  opportunities 
while  they  remain ;  improve  your  privileges  while 
they  are  bestowed ;  make  full  proof  the  blessings 
which  God  now  confers  upon  you ;  and  be  sure  that 
you  are  sealed  by  his  Spirit  unto  the  day  of  redemp- 
tion. 


N  19 


X. 


THE    SINNERS    CHOICE. 


St.  John  xviii.  40. — Then  cried  they  all  again^  saying.  Not  this  7nan, 
but  Barabbas,     Now  Barabbas  was  a  robber. 

I  DO  not  select  these  words  to  speak  particularly 
of  the  conduct  of  the  Jews.  It  is  of  little  avail  to 
our  benefit,  to  reproach  them,  or  to  hold  up  their 
conduct  to  reprehension.  I  suppose  them  to  be  no 
exceptions  to  mankind ;  but  a  fair  and  distinct  exhibi- 
tion of  the  human  character,  and  an  accurate  develop- 
ment of  the  human  heart.  Their  opposition  to  Jesus 
was  but  the  natural  opposition,  which  conscious 
iniquity  generates,  to  the  light  and  power  of  excel- 
lence. They  hated  him  not  for  himself,  but  for  his 
character.  Their  aversion  to  this,  was  the  simple  re- 
sult of  man's  native  dislike  to  purity  and  holiness. 
Their  obliquity  of  purpose,  and  cruelty  of  spirit,  did 
not  arise  from  their  being  Jews,  but  from  their  being 
men. 

The  reception  which  they  thus  gave  to  human  per- 
fection personified  in  the  character  and  life  of  Jesus 
Christ,  was  no   peculiarity  in   their   circumstances. 

146 


THE  sinner's  choice.  147 

Had  he  chosen  Rome  or  Athens  for  the  scene  of  his 
manifestation  and  his  mighty  works,  the  result  would 
have  been  undoubtedly  the  same ;  nor  is  there  the 
slightest  reason  to  imagine  the  contrary.  This  rejec- 
tion of  Christ  was  no  mere  incident  of  that  particular 
age.  In  the  attainments  and  cultivation  of  the  human 
intellect,  it  was  far  from  a  barbarous  age.  In  the  in- 
ventions of  a  luxurious  taste  for  man's  indulgences,  it 
was  greatly  the  reverse.  The  same  claims  and  cha- 
racter would  have  experienced  the  same  repulse,  in 
every  age,  and  in  all  the  circumstances  of  human  his- 
tory. The  very  general  rejection  of  the  Saviour's 
authority  and  invitations,  under  all  the  influence  of  a 
Christian  education,  and  a  prejudice  (if  I  may  so  call  it) 
in  their  favour,  in  our  time ;  the  infidelity  and  contempt 
of  the  Gospel,  which  stalks  with  such  demoniac  con- 
fidence throughout  our  land ;  in  my  judgment,  compel 
the  conclusion,  that  had  the  Son  of  God  delayed  his 
incarnation  to  our  day,  and  selected  this  continent 
and  city,  for  the  revelation  of  himself,  in  his  doctrines 
and  miracles,  to  mankind;  the  same  experience  would 
have  awaited  him  here ;  and  as  many  voices  as  shouted 
in  that  hour  of  darkness  around  Jerusalem,  would 
raise  the  awful  cry  upon  our  soil  also,  "  not  this  man, 
but  Barabbas." 

1  did  not  select  these  words,  therefore,  to  speak 
particularly  of  the  conduct  of  the  Jews.  They  are 
to  be  viewed  as  the  expression  of  the  choice  of  a 
CARNAL  ]\iiND.  They  will  be  found  to  be  the  actual 
expression  of  multitudes  around  us  every  day.  And 
the  worst  result  of  their  first  utterance  by  the  Jews, 
becomes  their  e^  erlasting  result,  in  the  case  and  expe- 
rience of  thousands,  of  the  state  and  choice  of  whoge 


148  THE  sinner's  choice. 

minds,  they  are  now  the  declaration.  It  is  under  this 
view  that  I  propose  to  consider  our  text ;  a  view 
which  leaves  its  circumstances  behind,  to  present  its 
principle ;  a  view  which  brings  out  our  own  concern 
with  the  transaction  which  it  records,  as  well  as  that 
of  the  first  actors  in  the  scene.  In  pursuing  this  view, 
I  remark, 

I.  The  great  and  peculiar  sin  of  man  under  the 
Christian  dispensation,  is  the  rejection  of  the  authority 
and  offers  of  a  Saviour,  for  the  sake  of  some  opposing 
interest,  or  proposition.  Wherever  the  Gospel  is 
proclaimed,  men  are  not  only  called  upon  to  clioose 
whom  they  will  serve,  and  with  whom  they  will  be 
identified ;  but  in  the  actual  necessity  of  circum- 
stances also,  they  do  make  this  choice.  Jesus  insists 
upon  an  absolute  union  and  copartnership  with  him, 
to  be  regulated  according  to  his  single  will,  as  the 
proper,  and  the  only  allowable  course,  for  all  who 
listen  to  his  word.  He  declares,  that  whosoever  is 
not  with  him,  is  against  him  ;  and  whosoever  gathereth 
not  with  him,  sciUtereth  abroad.  He  allows  no  pre- 
tended, passive  neutrality,  no  alleged  quietness,  and 
abstinence  from  interfering,  in  the  cause  which  he 
sustains  among  men.  All  such  negative  assumptions, 
he  deems  a  positive  and  designed  opposition.  Men 
are  required  to  make  a  selection  between  two  interests 
and  schemes,  which  are  in  irreconcilable  hostility  to 
each  other ;  of  which,  whichever  becomes  triumph- 
ant, the  other  must  be  destroyed.  This  choice  be- 
tween two  plans  which  can  never  even  approach  to 
conciliation,  is  demanded,  and  is  made,  wherever  the 
Gosf)cl  is  proclaimed  and  heard.  When  the  call  for 
repentance    for    sin,   the   offer  of   free    forgiveness 


THE  sinner's  choice.  149 

through  the  Saviour's  blood,  the  demand  for  simple 
submission  to  the  Lord's  authority,  are  heard,  though 
but  for  a  single  time,  this  choice  between  two  oppos- 
ing schemes,  is  proposed  on  the  Lord's  behalf,  and 
made  on  the  part  of  man. 

It  cannot  be  doubted,  that  he  who  immediately  em- 
braces the  proposal  which  is  thus  made  to  him  from 
heaven,  who  submits  himself  to  the  divine  govern- 
ance, who,  as  a  redeemed  sinner,  casts  in  his  lot  with 
the  Redeemer  who  hath  ransomed  him  with  his  blood, 
and  enters  into  the  required  partnership  with  him,  has 
made  a  distinct  choice.  He  is  henceforth  identified, 
in  all  his  interests,  efforts,  and  hopes,  with  the  gra- 
cious friend  who  hath  bought  him  with  a  price.  He 
will  abide  with  him.  If  he  conquers,  he  will  partake 
of  the  glory  of  his  triumph.  But  it  can  no  more 
justly  be  doubted,  that  he  who  does  not  thus  embrace 
the  principles  and  offers  of  the  Saviour  in  his  Gospel, 
though  he  make  no  positive  resolution  to  the  contrary, 
nor  is  conscious  of  any  thing  in  his  state  of  mind,  but 
a  simple  unwillingness  to  become  yet  a  disciple  of 
Jesus,  under  the  influence  of  which,  he  goes  from  the 
Gospel  message  still  unsubdued  and  unconverted,  has 
as  actually  made  his  choice  of  that  stand  and  service 
which  Jesus  opposes.  Whether  this  shall  be  a  per- 
manent choice,  does  not  depend  entirely  upon  himself. 
God  may  give  him  no  opportunity  to  reverse  it.  And 
for  the  time  being,  and  to  the  utmost  extent  of  his  own 
power  of  determination,  it  is  a  positive  and  unqualified 
refusal  of  the  Saviour's  invitation,  and  an  equally  un- 
qualified rejection  of  his  authority.  It  is  a  distinct 
and  positive  choice  by  the  sinner's  mind  and  heart,  of 
which  the  direct  expression  is,  "  not  this  man,  but  Bar- 
n2 


150  THE  sinner's  choice. 

abbas ;"  not  Christ  and  his  salvation,  or  not  now  at 
least,  but  something  which  opposes  them.  It  matters 
not  what  that  something  may  be.  It  is  Barabbas  still. 
It  is  the  direct  and  designed  opponent  of  the  Saviour. 
There  may  be  a  thousand  extenuations  suggested. 
Barabbas  may  be  refined,  and  clothed,  and  made  re- 
spectable. But  it  is  Barabbas  still.  It  is  an  object 
which  is  in  appointed  and  selected  opposition  to 
Christ,  which  has  been  chosen  in  preference  to  Christ, 
and  for  the  sake  of  which,  Christ  has  been  refused. 
Here  immovably  remains,  the  point  of  the  character, 
of  the  responsibility,  and  of  the  condemnation.  The 
act  of  man  has  been  a  voluntary  choice.  The  posi- 
tion of  the  man  is,  that  he  has  made  this  choice.  The 
guilt  and  the  punishment  of  the  man,  rest  also  upon 
this  simple  fact.  He  has  chosen  death  rather  than 
life.     He  has  preferred  Barabbas  to  Christ. 

II.  I  would  illustrate  this  choice  in  some  instances 
which  display  it.  There  are  many  such.  The  rival 
claims  to  the  affections  of  man,  for  which  the  service 
of  the  Saviour  is  refused,  are  exceedingly  various. 
They  are  as  various  also  in  their  character  of  guilt, 
as  they  appear  to  the  eye  and  the  estimation  of  man. 
But  they  all  come  to  the  same  result.  They  are  con- 
stituted into  representatives  of  the  same  spirit  of 
hostility  to  Christ.  They  become,  in  this  relation  of 
hostility  to  him,  in  his  view,  the  equally  guilty  per- 
sonifications of  that  carnal  mind,  which  is  enmit}'" 
against  God,  and  will  not  be  subject  to  his  will. 
Coming  under  this  uniform  character  of  guilt,  in  the 
rejection  of  Christ  which  they  produce,  there  is  no 
regard  to  be  had,  in  our  estimation  of  their  character, 
either  as  it  regards  their  danger  or  their  responsi- 


THE    sinner's   choice.  151 

bility,  to  their  minor  differences  of  circumstances. 
Rejecters  of  the  Lord  are  heirs  of  an  indiscriminate* 
condemnation.  "  The  wrath  of  God  is  revealed 
against  every  soul  of  man  that  doeth  evil."  "  Those 
mine  enemies,  which  would  not  that  I  should  reign 
over  them,  bring  them  hither,  and  slay  them  before 
me." 

But  what  is  the  Barabbas  for  which  the  human 
heart  rejects  a  Saviour  ? 

I  see  the  young  man  following  the  pleasures  of 
sense,  and  for  these,  despising  and  driving  from  him 
the  claims  of  piety.  He  walks  in  the  delusive  paths 
of  sinful  indulgence.  He  follows  the  heated  guidance 
of  unlawful  appetite.  He  drinks  continually  of  that 
vainly  sweetened  cup,  which,  in  his  bitter  remorse,  he 
as  continually  nauseates.  He  runs  to  riot  with  the 
noisy  and  sensual.  He  chooses  these  baser  gratifica- 
tions for  his  present  portion  ;  and  lays  down  his  head, 
to  slumber  for  destruction,  in  the  lap  of  gross  enjoy- 
ment. For  these,  he  rejects  the  Saviour's  invitations. 
He  counts  all  religion  as  a  series  of  contemptible  aus- 
terities. He  hardly  persuades  himself  to  be  respect- 
ful to  its  ministrations.  If  in  public,  or  in  solitude, 
his  conscience  ever  becomes  awakened;  if  God  speaks 
to  him  in  anger,  in  the  deep  recesses  of  his  own  soul, 
he  turns  from  the  alarm  with  undisguised  aversion, 
and  rushes  again  into  the  madness  of  his  indulgences, 
to  bury  himself  up  from  a  meddling  Deity.  What  is 
his  whole  conduct,  but  the  unceasing  brazen  boast, 
"Who  is  the  Almighty,  that  I  should  serve  him?" 
What  is  the  expression  of  every  act  of  his  life,  but 
the  declared,  yes,  the  vehemently  declared  choice, 
"  not  this  man,  but  Barabbas  ?" 


152  THE  sinner's  choice. 

I  see  the  giddy  daughter  of  vanity  and  fashion. 
•  Her  whole  thoughts  are  occupied  with  the  changing 
scenes  of  a  world,  the  fashion  of  which  passeth  away. 
She  lives  for  a  vain  exhibition  of  herself  The  low 
vanity  of  outward  decoration,  the  poor  ambition  of 
arranging  her  tinsel  with  taste,  the  round  of  giddy 
society,  the  feverish  excitement  of  the  dance,  and  the 
gay  assembly,  shall  I  say  the  theatre? — no,  this  is 
almost  too  disreputable  for  my  present  supposition — 
all  these  occupy  and  rule  her  affections  and  her  mind. 
For  these,  the  offers  of  the  Gospel  are  despised.  For 
these,  the  glories  of  eternity  are  vilely  cast  away. 
The  world  can  have  the  thoughts,  but  Christ  cannot. 
The  mirror  and  the  novel  can  command  tlie  time,  but 
the  Bible  cannot.  And  the  intellect,  and  the  affec- 
tions, and  the  life  of  the  soul,  are  all  frittered  away, 
in  this  ceaseless  sifting  of  earthly  giddiness.  What 
though  there  is  nothing  there  which  the  world  calls 
vice?  What  though  refinement  and  elegance  have 
adorned  and  dignified  the  whole  scene ;  and  this 
daughter  of  folly  is  to  be  led  on  to  her  immolation, 
ornamented  with  garlands,  and  surrounded  by  joyous 
strains?  Is  it  not  hostility  to  Christ?  Is  it  not 
direct  aversion  to  his  service,  that  constitutes  the 
principle  here  ?  For  these  vanities,  she  has  cast 
away  the  favour  of  her  God.  For  these,  she  exchanges 
the  blessed  hope  and  portion,  which  the  Saviour  gives. 
These  are  but  the  representatives  of  her  refusal  of 
his  love ;  and  in  her  devotion  to  these,  she  is  daily 
shouting  in  her  insensate  giddiness,  "  not  this  man, 
but  Barabbas." 

I  see  the  man  of  business,  in  his  neglect  of  godli- 
ness, for  the  following  of  gain ;  devoting  all  the  ener- 


THE  sinner's  choice.  153 

gies  of  his  mind  to  the  amassing  of  wealth ;  with  his 
head  bowed  down  to  the  earth ;  his  eyes  fixed  upon 
earthly  goods,  and  his  mind  digging  into  possible 
mines  of  treasure  for  himself.  But  with  him,  all  is 
^as  if  there  were  no  God,  and  no  future  eternity,  for 
he  acknowledges  no  authority,  but  present  interest, 
and  asks  for  no  portion,  but  the  present  world,  lis 
•soul  is  mammonized  completely.  The  desire  of  his 
heart  is  simply  for  present  gain.  Now,  why  do  you 
tell  me,  that  he  is  respectable,  and  moral,  and  upright, 
and  domestic,  and  affectionate  ?  What  is  all  this  ?  It 
would  be  as  much  to  the  purpose,  to  tell  me  that  he 
clothed  himself  from  the  winter's  cold,  and  guarded 
his  appetite  from  the  approach  of  want.  I  tell  you, 
his  unconverted  heart  rejects  a  Saviour.  His  proud 
will  refuses  submission  to  God.  His  carnal  mind  is 
upon  earthly  things.  All  his  boasted  excellencies  are 
but  the  glitterings  of  his  selfishness.  They  have  their 
own  reward,  but  they  can  expect  none  from  a  God 
who  has  been  entirely  forgotten.  For  this  busy,  ac- 
cumulating life,  he  rejects  all  the  admonitions  and 
offers  of  the  Gospel.  He  drives  away  from  him  the 
demands  of  the  Redeemer,  and  of  his  own  soul.  He 
passes  his  time  amidst  all  the  privileges  of  the  Gospel, 
keeping  and  cherishing  an  unconverted  heart.  The 
whole  language  of  his  life,  and  if  you  press  upon  him 
the  obligations  of  piety,  the  language  of  his  lips,  is, 
"not  this  man,  but  Barabbas." 

I  see  the  toiling  aspirant  for  human  honour,  climb- 
ing the  slippery  steep  where  so  many  fall,  and  the 
summit  of  which  so  few  have  gained.  Reputation,  and 
tlie  influence  of  reputation,  are  the  all  with  him.  For 
this  he  studies,  and  plans,  and  labours.     So  much  of 

20 


154  THE  sinner's  choice. 

the  form  of  religion  as  is  respectable,  he  will  have. 
Where  popularity  with  men  plants  the  stake  of  limit, 
there  he  stops.  His  Barabbas  is  the  praise  of  men. 
For  this,  he  rejects  the  honour  that  cometh  from  God 
only.  Polite,  decorous,  and  respectable  toward  reli- 
gion, for  he  loves  the  praise  of  good  men  too,  he  will 
give  his  countenance  and  example  to  apparent  reli- 
gious worship.  But  his  heart  deliberately  stands  in- 
the  determination,  not  to  lose  the  influence  of  popu- 
larity in  his  profession,  for  the  favour  of  God.  And 
with  all  his  outward  smoothness,  his  speaking  fairly 
of  religious  things,  there  is  a  deep  and  determined 
hostility,  in  his  heart,  to  the  claims  and  the  power  of 
the  Gospel.  He  remains,  by  his  own  distinct  choice, 
an  unconverted  man.  He  drives  from  him  the  charges 
of  the  Bible,  with  affected  disdain.  He  will  not  seek 
his  life  from  Christ.  And  the  language  of  his  un- 
changing course,  as  it  speaks  in  every  act,  and  in 
every  determination  of  his  life,  is,  "  not  this  man,  but 
Barabbas." 

I  see  the  self-righteous  man  in  his  false  estimation 
of  his  own  character,  weighing  and  measuring  future 
expectations,  by  present  imaginary  deeds ;  congratu- 
lating himself  upon  his  spiritual  security ;  and  putting 
far  from  him  the  imagination  of  an  evil  day.  His 
pride  of  character  will  not  stoop  under  the  acknow- 
ledgment of  sin.  His  confidence  in  his  own  worth, 
forbids  his  seeking  a  shelter  in  the  righteousness  of 
another.  I  press  upon  him  the  charge  of  guilt  in  the 
sight  of  God.  I  warn  him  of  an  abiding  insufficiency 
in  himself  I  announce  to  him  a  condemnation,  from 
which,  superabounding  grace  to  sinners, furnishes  the 
only  way  of  escape.     But  he  knits  his  brow  with  dis- 


THE  sinner's  choice.  155 

pleasure;  and  presses  his  lips  with  determination; 
and  his  whole  countenance  speaks  the  choice  which 
his  whole  heart  makes  and  cultivates,  "  not  this  man, 
but  Barabbas." 

I  see  the  healthful,  procrastinating  all  regard  to 
God,  to  the  hours  of  sickness  ;  looking  upon  the  Gos- 
pel only  as  a  remedy,  and  refusing  to  receive  it  until 
they  shall  feel  sure  that  they  must  perish  without  it. 
And  for  this  they  now  choose  the  portion  which  is 
opposed  to  Christ,  meaning  and  hoping,  to  use  it  only 
for  a  time,  and  to  renounce  it  altogether  when  sick- 
ness and  death  shall  come.  I  see  the  prosperous  and 
gay,  waiting  until  the  season  of  distress  sliall  compel 
them  to  seek  their  shelter  at  the  cross ;  refusing  to 
follow  Jesus,  until  they  must  follow  him  in  garments 
of  mourning,  but  not  of  mourning  for  sin  ;  thinking 
of  the  Gospel  only  as  a  consolation  for  weeping,  a 
residuum  for  days  of  grief;  and  thrusting  it  from 
them  till  these  days  shall  come.  I  see  the  young,  re- 
fusing to  offer  unto  God  the  morning  sacrifice,  and 
looking  forward  to  the  time  when  the  shadows  of  the 
evening  are  stretched  out,  and  the  remnant  of  life 
flickers  in  the  weakness  of  old  age,  as  the  season 
when  the  wants  of  the  soul  shall  be  considered,  and 
a  provision  for  the  peace  of  eternity  shall  be  made. 
And  as  I  see  these  things,  I  cannot  but  mourn,  that 
even  God's  blessings  to  man,  health,  and  prosperity, 
and  youth,  should  be  converted  into  a  Barabbas  of  op- 
position to  him  ;  that  even  his  unspeakable  mercies 
should  be  transformed,  by  man's  depravity,  into  the 
instruments  and  occasions  of  more  determined  re- 
bellion against  himself. 

I  need  not  multiply  these  illustrations  more  exten- 


156  THE  sinner's  choice. 

sively.  They  all  result  in  the  very  same  point,  a  re- 
fusal of  the  favour  and  the  promises  of  the  Redeemer, 
for  something  which  is  preferred  in  opposition  to  him. 
Their  guilt  is  not  in  the  wickedness  of  the  ohject  wliich 
is  selected ;  but  in  the  rejection  of  the  Saviour,  whose 
service  and  authority  are  renounced,  for  tlie  sake  of 
it.  They  are  in  all  cases,  instances  of  the  same 
choice  of  a  carnal  mind.  They  bring  upon  each  in- 
dividual who  makes  this  choice,  the  same  solemn  con- 
demnation of  those  who  reject  the  light,  and  prefer 
the  darkness  to  it,  because  their  deeds  are  evil.  The 
responsibility  and  the  guilt  of  all,  is  fastened  upon 
the  very  same  point,  the  voluntary  refusal  and 
neglect  of  that  great  salvation,  which  God  has  offered 
to  man  in  his  dear  Son.  From  this  responsibility  and 
guilt  they  cannot  escape. 

III.  Consider  how  fearful  is  the  guilt,  how  alarm- 
ing is  the  danger  of  this  choice  !  "  Barabbas  was  a 
robber."  And  is  not  Barabbas  a  robber  still  ?  In 
each  of  these  instances,  of  the  forsaking  of  Christ 
for  the  love  of  this  present  world,  there  is  an  actual 
robbery  of  the  deluded  soul  tliat  is  guilty  of  the 
choice.  Whether  the  selected  alternate  be  giddiness, 
profligacy,  or  self-righteous  morality,  Barabbas  is  a 
robber.  And  all  that  is  precious  and  important  for 
the  soul,  is  stolen  from  it.  The  loss  which  the  sinner 
bears  cannot  be  estimated  in  this  world,  nor  can  it  be 
calculated  by  worldly  measures.  It  is  eternity,  which 
is  at  stake.  It  is  the  happiness  of  eternity,  of  which 
he  is  robbed.  It  is  the  wretched  despair  of  eternity, 
which  is  his  selected  alternative.  O,  foolish  nation 
and  unwise,  who  thus  despise  the  rock  of  your  salva- 
tion ;  and  renounce  a  Saviour  to  embrace  a  robber ! 


THE    SINNEll's   CHOICE.  157 

You  are  robbed  of  the  favour  of  God  forever,  of 
all  peace  with  him,  and  all  hope  before  him.  You 
cannot  stand  before  him,  in  any  righteousness  of  your 
own.  You  must  be  interested  in  the  atonement,  and 
clothed  with  the  righteousness  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
or  you  liave  no  hope  at  tlic  judgment  seat  of  God.  In 
Jesus  only,  is  he  to  be  found,  as  the  reconciled  Father 
and  the  friend  of  sinners.  While  you  are  rejecting 
this  Saviour  from  tlie  dominion  of  your  hearts,  you 
are  throwing  from  you  tlic  possibility  of  reconcilia- 
tion unto  God.  You  stand  in  judgment  with  him  in 
your  iniquities.  And  the  life  which,  for  its  guiltiness, 
your  own  conscience  cannot  justify,  a  holy  and  heart- 
searching  God  will  drive  from  him,  wdth  utter  abhor- 
rence. He  wdll  arise  against  you  in  his  anger,  and 
will  deliver  you  over  to  the  vengeance  which  sin  de- 
serves. You  will  find  him  a  consuming  fire;  and 
realize  in  the  bitter  experience  of  etemiity,  that  it  is 
a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God. 
You  bear  all  this,  because  for  the  love  of  this  present 
world,  in  some  one  or  many  of  its  Protean  shapes, 
you  have  rejected  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  re- 
fused the  blessed  salvation  which  he  has  offered  you 
in  his  Gospel.  Yes — a  world  which  scorns  you,  and 
deceives  you,  but  cannot  help  you,  has  robbed  you  of 
your  God. 

You  are  robbed  of  the  compassionate  intercession 
of  a  Saviour.  There  was  a  time,  when  through  many 
days  and  years,  Jesus  pitied  you,  sought  for  you,  and 
would  have  clothed  you  with  himself.  But  when  he 
called,  you  refused  ;  when  he  stretched  out  his  hand, 
you  did  not  regard  it.  You  would  none  of  his  coun- 
sel; you  despised  all  his  reproof.  He  pleaded  for 
0 


158  THE  sinner's  choice. 

you,  and  pleaded  with  you,  with  great  long-suffering 
and  forbearance,  that  you  might  be  rescued  and  saved. 
But  you  rejected  all  his  efforts ;  you  disregarded  his 
warnings ;  you  despised  his  mercy.  When  he  stood 
before  you  in  all  the  attractions  of  overflowing  kind- 
ness, in  all  the  exciting  power  of  his  disinterested 
grief  and  suffering,  you  turned  away  from  him,  to  a 
waiting  robber  that  was  thrust  before  you,  and  madly 
said,  "  not  this  man,  but  Barabbas."  And  now  you 
stand  in  judgment,  in  the  length,  and  depth,  and  all 
the  aggravation  of  your  guilt,  and  there  is  no  Advo- 
cate to  plead  for  you,  no  Redeemer  to  interpose  in 
your  behalf,  no  all-prevailing  High  Priest,  who  can 
say,  "  spare  him,  for  I  have  found  a  ransom,"  The 
Lord  Jesus  stands  aloof  from  your  calamity ;  and 
you  struggle  in  the  darkness  of  death,  and  tremble 
in  the  terrors  of  judgment,  and  contend  with  the 
strangling  serptnts  of  eternal  remorse ;  and  there  is 
no  hand  of  grace  to  grasp  you  now,  and  no  voice  of 
friendship,  to  assure  you  of  your  safety,  or  to  hush 
your  fears  to  rest.  The  enemy  that  derides  you,  and 
tramples  upon  you,  has  robbed  you  of  your  Saviour. 
You  are  robbed  of  the  immortal  interests  and  wel- 
fare of  your  soul.  What  will  all  the  perishing  things 
which  you  have  chosen,  avail  you  in  your  future  hoiir 
of  need  ?  What  will  you  carry  away  with  you,  from 
this  vain  world,  for  the  love  of  which  you  have  re- 
jected the  Lord  Jesus  Christ?  0,  consider  that 
change,  that  solemn  change,  in  which  mortality  is 
swallowed  up  by  enduring  life  !  When  your  body 
returns  naked  to  the  earth,  to  say  to  corruption, 
"thou  art  my  sister,"  what  does  it  carry  away  with 
it  ?     Its  appetites  have  been  fed ;  its  lusts  have  been 


TiiE  sinner's  choice.  159 

indulged ;  its  appearance  has  been  adorned.  But 
now  all  these  things  have  passed.  They  perished  in 
the  using,  and  are  forgotten.  The  cultivated  and 
ornamented  form  lies  cold  and  mouldering,  in  its  bed 
of  darkness.  But  where  is  the  soul  ?  What  does  it 
carry  away  ?  Alas  !  no  peace  or  hope.  It  is  laden 
with  the  dreadful  responsibility  and  consciousness  of 
all  this  catering  for  earthly  lusts;  the  guilt  of  thus 
making  the  body  which  has  perished,  the  object  of  its 
idolatry.  Beyond  this,  dreadful  as  it  is,  it  bears  the 
load  of  its  own  iniquities,  in  which  the  flesh  did  not 
participate.  But  it  takes  from  this  life,  no  ray  of 
comfort,  no  ground  for  peace,  no  repository  in  itself, 
for  future  satisfaction.  All  its  recollections  are  only 
painful  and  distressing.  All  its  prospects  are  even 
worse.  The  only  peace  of  the  soul  has  been  per- 
versely thrown  away.  The  only  hope  of  the  soul  has 
been  heedlessly  rejected,  in  the  rejection  of  the  Sa- 
viour who  died  for  it  Wretched  and  outcast,  driven 
from  a  world  in  which  it  cannot  remain,  this  is  all 
that  it  has  for  its  folly,  that  it  lies  down  in  sorrow. 
It  has  fallen  among  thieves  indeed,  and  it  is  left 
stripped  and  perishing  forever.  The  Barabbas  whom 
it  preferred  to  Christ,  has  robbed  it  of  every  comfort. 
Its  welfare  is  forever  gone.  The  everlasting  result 
of  its  folly,  is  everlasting  burnings.  The  only  price 
for  its  contempt  of  the  Lord  of  all,  is  the  devouring 
fire.  It  is  rejected,  and  driven  from  his  presence, 
forevermore  undone, 

IV.  This  is  the  necessary,  universal  result  of  your 
choice,  when  Christ  in  the  blessings  of.  his  salvation 
is  rejected,  for  the  love  of  vain  and  perishing  things. 
0, 1  would  solemnly  and  affectionately  warn  you  against 


160  THE  sinner's  choice. 

the  indulgence  of  this  carnal  mind.  It  is  death ;  it 
will  be  death  forever. 

I  would  stand  by  your  own  eternal  interests,  and 
beg  you,  do  not  barter  them  for  that  which  will  ruin 
you,  but  cannot  profit.  Behold,  the  peace  which 
passeth  understanding,  the  hope  which  maketh  not 
ashamed,  the  glory  which  excelleth,  the  habitation 
not  made  with  hands  which  faileth  not.  Behold,  the 
favour  and  approbation  of  God,  the  friendship  and 
love  of  the  Saviour,  the  joy  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
bestows.  Behold,  the  innumerable  company  of 
angels  ;  the  church  of  the  first-born  which  are 
written  in  heaven ;  the  spirits  of  the  just  made  per- 
fect; all  these  are  yours,  if  ye  are  Christ's.  These 
are  the  privileges  of  a  converted  and  justified  soul. 
They  may  all  be  yours  when  your  souls  become  the 
habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit.  O,  do  not  part 
with  them,  nor  be  deluded  into  an  exchange  of  these 
eternal  blessings,  for  any  of  the  pleasures  of  sin  for 
a  season. 

I  would  stand  by  the  bleeding  side  of  Jesus,  and 
beg  you,  do  not  ungratefully  refuse  him,  to  choose  a 
robber.  O,  consider  all  his  sufferings  in  your  behalf; 
his  humiliation  under  your  burden  of  guilt ;  his 
agonies  in  bearing  the  chastisement  of  your  peace. 
Behold  him  under  the  curse,  that  you  might  not  be 
cursed ;  dying,  that  you  might  live ;  rising,  that  you 
might  reign  forever.  Behold  him,  pleading  the  worth 
of  his  sacrifice  for  you,  in  heaven  ;  crying  amidst  all 
your  guilt,  spare  them  this  year,  and  this  year  also ; 
pressing  the  aj-gumejits  of  his  love  in  your  ov/n  con- 
science ;  urging  you  to  receive  his  kindness,  and  live 
to  God  with  him.     O,  do  not  turn  a  deaf  ear  and  a 


THE    sinner's    choice.  161 

hardened  heart  to  all  the  solicitations  of  his  mercy, 
and  wound  and  crucify  him  again,  and  put  him  to  an 
open  shame,  by  joining  with  those  who  oppose  and 
despise  him. 

I  would  stand  by  the  sovereign  authority  of  the 
living  God,  and  entreat  you,  do  not  treat  it  with  con- 
tempt, for  an  adversary  to  him  and  to  yourselves.  He 
demands  your  submission.  He  can  compel  it.  He 
has  declared  he  will.  Your  knees  must  bow  to  him, 
though  in  the  anguish  of  a  destruction  which  you 
cannot  resist.  Do  not  provoke  him  to  swear  in  his 
wrath,  that  you  shall  not  enter  into  his  rest.  O  seek 
him,  as  a  God  of  mercy  and  consolation,  as  he  is 
offered  in  the  Gospel,  and  seek  him  now  while  you 
may,  that  you  perish  not. 

I  would  stand  by  the  momentous  issues  of  eternity, 
and  beg  you,  do  not  lose  your  crown  in  them,  for  any 
thing  which  perisheth  here  below.  There  is  set  be- 
fore you  an  open  door,  and  you  are  invited  to  enter 
in  and  be  safe.  Behold  the  heavenly  rest  which  is 
set  before  you ;  the  everlasting  recompense  of  re- 
ward, which  is  freely  offered  as  the  purchase  of  a  Sa- 
viour's blood;  and  do  not  cast  them  from  you  for  the 
temptations  of  sin.  God  waiteth  to  be  gracious, 
when  you  shall  be  found  believing  in  his  Son.  0, 
come  then  unto  him,  and  take  his  yoke  upon  you,  and 
you  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls. 


o2  21 


XI. 


THE    CHRISTIANS    ROCK. 


Deuteronomy  xxxii.  3 1 . — For  their  rock  is  not  as  our  rock,  even  our 
enemies  themselves  being  judges. 

This  assertion  is  a  part  of  the  song  which  Moses 
taught  to  the  IsraeUtes,  on  the  borders  of  the  land  of 
Canaan.  He  was  at  the  close  of  a  long  life  of  trial 
and  labour.  He  had  finished  the  work  which  had 
been  given  him  to  do ;  and  being  prohibited  from  en- 
tering the  land  of  promise,  he  records,  by  divine 
direction,  for  his  people,  in  this  song,  a  testimonial  of 
the  goodness  of  God,  and  their  own  ingratitude,  that 
it  might  remain  with  them  in  all  their  future  genera- 
tions. 

After  having  spoken  much  of  the  power  and  kind- 
ness of  the  God  of  Israel,  as  they  had  been  displayed 
in  his  past  dispensations  with  his  people,  he  compares 
him  in  our  text,  as  the  rock  of  Israel,  with  all  the 
gods  of  the  surrounding  heathen  nations,  whom  he 
styles  their  rock ;  and  asserts  in  this  comparison,  his 
entire  superiority  over  them.  To  sustain  this  com- 
parison, he  appeals,  not  to  the   experience  of  the 

162 


THE    christian's   ROCK.  163 

Israelites,  but  to  that  of  their  enemies.  He  demands 
the  judgment  of  those  who  have  opposed  the  Lord  of 
hosts.  He  calls  for  their  acknowledgment  of  his 
power.  He  summons  them,  to  bear  their  present  tes- 
timony. Where  are  the  Egyptians  who  perished  in 
the  sea ;  or  the  Amorites  who  fell  in  the  wilderness  ? 
Where  is  Pharaoh,  who  refused  his  submission  to 
God;  or  Sihon  and  Og,  who  came  out  to  destroy  his 
people?  What  is  their  judgment?  What  is  the 
estimate  of  the  power  of  the  God  of  Israel,  which 
their  knowledge  and  experience  has  led  them  to  form? 
He  thus  appeals  to  an  evidence  which  was  incon- 
testable; to  a  history  of  facts  which  had  been  so 
plainly  exhibited,  that  there  was  no  room  for  hesita- 
tion or  doubt.  And  while  he  makes  this  appeal,  he 
proclaims  that  there  is  none  like  unto  the  Lord, 
glorious  in  holiness,  fearful  in  praises,  doing 
wonders. 

In  selecting  this  assertion  as  a  subject  for  discourse, 
I  have  before  my  mind,  a  similar  comparison  to  that 
which  Moses  makes,  and  evidence  of  a  similar  cha- 
racter to  sustain  and  enforce  it.  I  wish  to  transfer 
the  assertion  of  the  text  to  our  own  circumstances. 
And  as  the  God  whom  we  worship,  is  the  God  who 
revealed  himself  to  Israel,  by  Moses,  the  present  ap- 
plication of  the  text,  is  in  no  degree,  a  perversion  of 
it,  from  its  proper  meaning.  In  the  Gospel  of  Jesus, 
we  make  the  Lord  of  hosts  our  rock.  In  choosing 
him,  and  resting  upon  him  thus,  we  are  encompassed 
by  enemies,  both  to  him  and  to  ourselves.  And  in 
the  view  of  all  these  enemies,  we  make  our  choice. 
We  adopt,  therefore,  as  entirely  appropriate  to  our 
own    condition,    the    strong    testimony    before    us. 


164  THE  christian's  rock. 

"  Their  rock  is  not  as  our  rock,  even  our  enemies 
themselves  being  the  judges." 

The  subject  upon  which  I  design  to  speak,  as  sug- 
gested by  this  text,  is  the  concessions  which  the 

WORLD  MAKES  TO  THE  WORTH  OF  THE  RELIGION  OF 

THE  Gospel.     In   considering   our  text   under  this 
view,  we  have, 

I.  The  comparison  which  is  to  be  made,  and 

II.  The  testimony  which  is  to  be  adduced 
to  support  it. 

I.  We  will  consider  the  comparison  which  is  to  be 
made.  "  Their  rock  is  not  as  our  rock."  What  is 
"their  rock?"  and  what  is  "  our  rock?" 

1 .  What  is  the  rock  of  the  world  ?  It  is  the  spe- 
cial foundation  which  it  lays  for  present  peace  and 
future  hope.  When  the  Christian's  rock  is  rejected, 
and  the  foundation  which  is  laid  in  the  Gospel  is 
refused,  the  wisdom  of  man  must  find  some  other 
foundation  for  confidence.  There  are  but  three  pos- 
sible systems,  upon  which  dependence  may  be  placed, 
by  men  who  have  not  embraced  the  hope  of  the  Gos- 
pel. Upon  one  of  these  every  unconverted  man, 
every  lover  of  this  present  world  more  than  God,  is 
fixing  all  his  expectations  of  comfort  and  rest. 

He  may  make  a  bold  system  of  Atheism  his  rock. 
He  must  say  in  his  judgment,  and  in  his  profession, 
as  he  actually  does  in  his  heart,  "  There  is  no  God ;" 
and,  of  course,  no  future  responsibility  for  his  soul. 
In  theory,  there  are  few,  perhaps,  who  suppose  them- 
selves to  be  Atheists ;  who  can  look  abroad  upon  all 
the  wonderful  works  of  God,  behold  their  contrivance 
and  variety,  and  deliberately  deny  that  there  is  a 
Being  who  made  them  all.     But  in  a  practical  de- 


THE    christian's   ROCK.  165 

velopraent  of  principles,  there  are  vast  multitudes 
who  are  without  God  in  the  world ;  whose  whole  life 
and  character  is  precisely  as  if  there  were  no  God. 
And  it  would  be  but  an  honest  avowal  of  the  actual 
dependence,  if  they  should  openly  .announce  the 
theory  by  which  they  are  manifestly  guided,  to  be  the 
theory  which  they  intentionally  and  systematically 
adopt. 

If  however,  the  worldly  man  shudder  at  this  as- 
sumption, and  is  not  willing  to  avow  absolute  Atheism 
to  be  his  rock;  he  must,  with  the  acknowledgment 
of  the  existence  of  a  God  who  judgeth  in  the  earth, 
rest  his  confidence  of  acceptance  with  him,  upon  his 
own  integrity  and  obedience,  and  make  his  own  right- 
eousness his  rock.  This  dependence  is  far  more 
common  than  its  evident  worthlessness  might  lead  us 
to  suppose.  While  men  are  ignorant  of  the  deep 
corruption  and  guiltiness  of  their  souls,  they  form  a 
false  estimate  of  their  own  character.  They  vainly 
imagine  that  what  meets  their  own  partial  and  blinded 
approbation,  will  also  meet  the  approbation  of  God. 
They  thus  pretend  to  claim  as  a  right,  as  the  reward 
of  their  own  works,  the  future  blessedness  which  God 
has  promised  to  his  people.  They  imagine  it  would 
be  unjust  in  God,  to  condemn  and  destroy  them,  and 
suppose  therefore,  that  he  will  not  do  it. 

If  a  partial  knowledge  of  his  own  sinfulness  de- 
stroy the  confidence,  which  a  worldly  man  would  be 
disposed  to  feel  in  himself,  the  only  remaining  ground 
of  hope  for  him,  is,  that  though  there  is  a  God,  and 
though  he,  as  a  sinner,  can  claim  nothing  from  such  a 
being,  yet  the  mercy  of  God  will  not  suffer  any  man 
to  be  destroyed.     This  is  the  only  remainmg  rock. 


166  THE  christian's  rock. 

It  is  the  hope,  that  God  will  still  receive  and  save 
men,  though  they  are  sinners,  and  none  shall  be  cast 
into  the  sorrows  of  hell  forever. 

Here  is  a  choice  among  three  distinct  systems  of 
confidence.  One  of  these  is  always  the  rock  of  the 
world.  Upon  one  of  these,  as  a  selected  foundation, 
every  unconverted  man  rests  his  confidence,  and  in 
its  possession,  comforts  himself  in  a  present  course 
of  sin.  To  give  them  their  technical  names,  they  are 
Atheism,  and  Deism,  and  Universalism.  No  other 
position  can  be  imagined  as  held  by  the  man  who  re- 
jects the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and  the  foundation  which 
the  Lord  Jesus  has  laid  for  human  hope.  One  of 
these  three  must  be  the  rock  of  the  world.  And  the 
examination  of  his  own  state  of  mind,  will  show  to 
every  unconverted  man  who  hears  me,  that  he  has 
adopted,  and  is  carrying  out,  one  of  these  three  sys- 
tems, as  the  balm  of  comfort  to  his  soul. 

2.  Now  what  is  "our  rock?"  tlie  rock  of  the 
Christian  ?  Certainly,  neither  of  these  three.  We 
know  that  there  is  a  God.  We  know  that  in  our  own 
righteousness,  we  cannot  stand  before  him.  If  he 
shall  enter  into  judgment  with  us,  our  iniquity  will 
certainly  be  found  out.  We  know  that  though  he  is 
plenteous  in  mercy,  he  will  by  no  means  clear  the 
guilty.  *'  The  wicked  shall  be  turned  into  hell,  and 
all  the  people  that  forget  God."  All  these  vain 
grounds  of  hope,  we  utterly  renounce.  Our  rock  is 
Christ.  God  reconciled  unto  us,  through  the  one 
offering  of  Jesus  once  for  all,  is  our  whole  depend- 
ence, our  only  ground  of  hope.  On  this  rock,  we 
feel  secure.  It  allows  us  no  room  for  fear  from  past 
transgressions,  because  it  exhibits  a  full  and  all-suffi- 


THE    christian's   ROCK.  167 

cient  satisfaction  for  them  all,  in  the  blood  of  Jesus. 
It  sutfers  us  in  no  apprehensions  from  present  defi- 
ciencies, because  it  reveals  the  perfect  obedience  of 
Christ  as  counted  unto  us,  for  our  complete  accept- 
ance. It  permits  no  fear  from  future  weakness,  be- 
cause it  shows  this  Almighty  Saviour  to  be  all-sufficient 
in  strength,  and  able  to  finish  the  work  which  he  has 
undertaken  for  us,  and  by  his  equal  Spirit  to  accom- 
plish all  liis  good  pleasure  within  us  also.  It  leaves 
no  room  for  distress  from  surrounding  dangers,  be- 
cause it  conveys  the  assurance,  that  all  things  shall 
work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God,  who 
are  called  according  to  his  purpose.  This  is  "  our 
rock" — the  rock  that  is  higher  than  we,  to  which 
we  cry  to  be  led,  when  our  heart  is  overwhelmed 
within  us.  It  is  ours,  because  God,  according  to  the 
greatness  of  his  mercy,  has  given  it  unto  us.  It  is 
his  provision  in  our  behalf.  It  is  ours,  because  he 
has  enabled  us  to  accept  it  with  our  hearts,  as  our 
whole  dependence  and  defence.  It  bears  us  up  above 
our  sins,  and  our  condemnation.  It  bears  for  us  our 
hope  of  glory.  And  this  is  the  rock  which  we  com- 
pare with  the  rock  of  the  world.  "  Their  rock  is 
not  as  our  rock."  We  place  them  side  by  side,  in  fair 
examination,  and  intend  to  show  the  truth  of  the  as- 
sertion which  we  make,  of  the  entire  superiority  of 
our  dependence. 

II.  I  proceed  to  consider  the  testimony  which  is  to 
be  adduced  to  support  the  comparison  thus  made — 
"  even  our  enemies  themselves  being  the  judges." 

Observe,  my  brethren,  I  do  not  now  rest  upon  the 
experience  of  Christians,  the  people  of  the  living  God, 
who  have  built  upon  this  rock,  and  tested  its  worth 


168  THE  christian's  rock. 

and  strength.  This  would  certainly  be  an  abundant, 
and  a  most  legitimate  and  proper  source  of  testimony. 
But  I  waive  it  for  the  present.  We  will  not  go  up  to 
heaven,  amidst  the  uncounted  millions  that  encompass 
the  throne  of  God  in  triumph,  and  fill  the  atmosphere 
of  glory  with  their  shouts  of  praise ;  though  should 

We  ask  them  whence  their  victory  came  ? 

They,  with  united  breath, 
Ascribe  their  conquest  to  the  Lamb, 

Their  triumph  to  his  death. 

They  would  furnish  a  glorious  testimony  to  the 
worth  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  power  of  Christ,  as  they 
answered  us,  "  we  are  they  which  came  out  of  great 
tribulation,  and  have  washed  our  robes,  and  made  them 
white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb ;  therefore,  are  we 
before  the  throne  of  God,  and  serve  him  day  and 
night  in  his  temple;  and  he  that  sitteth  upon  the 
throne  shall  dwell  among  us ;  we  shall  hunger  no 
more,  neither  thirst  any  more ;  neither  shall  the  sun 
light  on  us,  nor  any  heat ;  for  the  Lamb  which  is  in 
the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed  us,  and  shall  lead 
us  unto  living  fountains  of  waters,  and  God  shall  wipe 
away  all  tears  from  our  eyes."  But  we  will  not 
dwell  upon  this. 

We  will  not  go  abroad  upon  the  earth,  to  gain  the 
testimony  and  experience  of  the  millions  of  the  friends 
and  followers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  here,  though  they 
would  all  proclaim  with  united  heart  and  voice,  that 
they  "  have  none  in  heaven  but  him,  and  there  is  none 
upon  the  earth  they  desire  in  comparison  with  him." 
He  is  "  all  their  salvation  and  all  their  desire  ;"  "  the 
strength  of  their  heart,  and  their  portion  forever." 
We  waive  the  right,  however,  to  all  this  cloud  of  wit- 


THE    christian's   ROCK.  169 

nesses  to  the  exceeding  value  of  "  our  rock."  Just, 
and  convincing,  and  abundant,  as  their  testimony 
would  be,  to  the  power,  and  sufficiency,  and  glory  of 
Christ,  we  will  not  appeal  to,  or  rest  upon  this.  We 
commit  our  whole  cause  to  the  judgment  and  deci- 
sion of  the  world  itself  We  place  the  enemies  of 
Christ,  upon  the  bench  of  determination,  and  stand 
before  them,  to  plead  the  claims  of  our  Saviour  and 
God.  And  we  leave  to  the  decision  of  their  own 
consciences,  the  question,  whether  upon  the  simple 
and  manifest  concessions  of  the  world,  to  the  worth 
of  the  Gospel,  the  assertion  of  our  text  is  not  abun- 
dantly supported. 

The  spirit  and  principles  of  this  world,  are  un- 
doubtedly opposed  to  the  religion  of  the  Gospel.  The 
carnal  mind,  under  all  its  possible  outward  refine- 
ments, is  still  enmity  against  God.  The  Saviour 
comes  daily  unto  the  world,  and  the  world  receives 
him  not,  and  knows  him  not.  Whatever  concessions, 
therefore,  are  made  by  this  ungodly  world,  to  the 
worth  of  his  Gospel,  are  of  the  greater  value,  from 
the  fact,  that  they  are  entirely  undesigned,  and  invo- 
luntary. The  inconsistency  with  which  unconverted 
men  applaud  and  uphold  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  while 
they  reject  its  whole  operation  for  good  upon  their 
own  souls,  condemns  them  out  of  their  own  mouth. 
And  the  result  of  our  present  examination  will  be  to 
show,  that  the  assertion  of  our  present  text  must  be 
acknowledged  to  be  truth ;  or  carnally  minded  men,  to 
sustain  their  own  principles,  must  pursue  a  course  of 
conduct  totally  different  from  their  present  one.  What 
then  are  the  concessions,  which  the  world  makes  to 
the  worth  of  the  religion  of  the  Gospel  ? 

P  22 


170  THE    christian's   ROCK. 

1.  The  first  is,  in  the  general  respect  which  men 
render  to  the  rehgion  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
though  they  feel  not  its  renewing  power,  and  reject 
all  its  spiritual  operations  upon  their  own  souls.  Two 
things  are  exceedingly  manifest  in  the  character  and 
appearance  of  the  world  around  us;  that  the  majority 
of  men  yield  no  subjection  of  their  hearts  to  Christ, 
but  are  living  in  all  respects  without  him,  and  regard- 
less of  him,  as  a  Saviour  for  them ;  and  yet,  that  the 
external  services  of  his  religion  are  treated  by  them 
with  peculiar  respect,  and  supported  at  a  great  ex- 
pense. From  these  two  facts,  what  conclusion  must 
we  draw?  When  a  man  has  selected  the  present 
world  as  his  portion,  in  a  rejection  of  the  claims  of 
the  Gospel  upon  his  heart,  by  the  Saviour's  testi- 
mony, he  is  acting  really  against  Christ,  and  the  love 
of  the  Father  is  not  in  him.  His  real  spirit  is  hos- 
tility to  the  Gospel ;  and  every  tribute  of  regard  or 
reverence  which  he  pays  to  the  commands  of  Christ, 
from  whatever  motive,  is  just  so  far  a  concession  on 
his  part,  to  the  worth  and  importance  of  the  religion 
which  Jesus  Christ  has  established  among  men.  What 
argument  must  we  derive,  then,  from  their  attendance 
nn  the  worship  enjoined  by  the  Gospel,  who  reject  the 
power  of  the  Gospel  over  themselves?  What  from 
their  regard  to  the  institution  of  the  Sabbath  ?  What 
from  their  costly  preparation  for  the  religious  services 
of  this  holy  day?  Why  do  not  unbeheving  men 
occupy  all  this  time,  and  devote  this  cost  simply  to 
the  engagements  and  pleasures  of  the  present  world  ? 
Why  do  they  erect  a  temple  for  the  worship  of  the 
Son  of  God,  which  is  to  stand  as  a  monument  against 
themselves,  if  they  submit  not  to   the   government 


THE    christian's    ROCK.  171 

which  he  claims  and  exercises  among  men  ?  Why  do 
they  sustain  a  ministry,  which  is  to  be  for  their  own 
condemnation,  and  to  stand  up  as  a  witness  against 
them,  in  the  great  day  of  Ahuighty  God  ?  Why  do 
they  unite  to  support  a  system,  which  openly  declares, 
that  "  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  them,"  notwith- 
standing all  their  reverence  and  their  expense  ?  What 
means  it  all,  but  that  it  is  a  marked  concession  on  the 
part  of  worldly  men,  that  "  their  rock  is  not  as  our 
rock  ?"  However  inconsistent  on  the  part  of  worldly 
and  unconverted  men,  such  conduct  is,  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  opposition  to  Jesus,  by  which  they  are  really 
governed,  it  is  a  direct  and  unceasing  acknowledgment 
of  the  superior  worth  and  claims  of  the  Gospel. 
Every  dollar  which  a  man,  in  whose  heart  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  does  not  reign,  gives  to  the  support  of 
the  Gospel,  and  every  occasion  on  which  he  unites  in 
the  worship  of  the  Christian  sanctuary,  is  a  simple 
and  repeated  confession  of  the  importance  and  value 
of  that  rock  whicli  he  still  rejects.  He  stands  con- 
demned out  of  his  own  mouth. 

2.  A  second  concession  which  the  world  makes  to 
the  religion  of  the  Gospel,  is  the  high  standard  which 
its  judgment  establishes  for  Christian  conduct,  and 
its  immediate  and  uniform  detection  and  exposure  of 
the  Christian's  personal  deficiencies  and  inconsist- 
encies, as  compared  with  this  standard.  This  must 
be  a  subject  of  universal  observation.  A  course  of 
life  which  is  considered  in  no  degree  derogatory  to 
the  character  of  a  professedly  worldly  man,  becomes, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  world,  absolutely  ruinous  to  the 
professed  Christian.  How  common  is  the  remark, 
when  some  minor  fraud  is  discovered  in  the  business 


172  THE  christian's  rock. 

of  a  Christian  professor,  some  apparent  unfaithfulness 
in  the  settlement  of  his  monied  transactions;  or  when 
some  man  calling  himself  a  Christian,  is  found  in  the 
haunts  of  giddiness  or  sensuality ;  or  when  he  is  sub- 
dued even  temporarily  by  the  indulgence  of  appetite ; 
or  found  to  grasp  with  a  greedy  spirit,  the  emoluments 
of  the  world;  "if  he  did  not  profess  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian it  would  be  of  no  consequence  !"  How^  is  this? 
What  does  it  mean  ?  Will  the  world  allow  its  vota- 
ries a  standard  of  character,  which  the  Gospel  will 
not  allow  to  its  disciples  ?  Can  a  worldly  man  be 
still  honoured,  though  charged  with  conduct  which  in 
his  own  opinion,  would  disgrace  him  if  he  professed 
to  be  a  Christian  ?  Yet  this  is  the  fact.  There  are 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  the  men  of  this  world, 
who  feel  that  the  indulgence  of  their  own  lusts,  an 
indulgence  which  is  in  no  degree  disreputable  to  them 
in  their  present  circumstances,  and  shuts  them  out  of 
no  society,  even  genteel  female  society — so  called, — 
(I  mourn  to  say  it,)  is  the  great  obstacle  to  their  be- 
coming disciples  of  a  religion,  whose  very  purity  com- 
pels them  to  respect  it,  while  they  hate  the  authority 
which  it  exercises.  They  can  be  respectable  in  the 
world,  though  they  are  steeped  in  iniquity.  They 
cannot  be  respectable  as  members  of  the  Christian 
church,  if  even  suspected  of  crimes  in  secret,  which 
they  now  unblushingly  commit.  When  a  professed 
Christian  is  found  in  conduct  inconsistent  with  this 
high  standard  which  the  world  has  fixed  for  him, 
though  still  on  a  far  higher  ground  in  moral  character 
than  is  perfectly  respectable  in  the  world,  and  than 
worldly  men  around  are  perfectly  content  to  occupy, 
the   world   says,  he   has   fallen.     Fallen'     Why? 


THE  christian's  rock.  173 

Does  the  world  acknowledge  itself  in  excellence  be- 
neath the  Gospel?  If  a  man,  once  a  worldly  man, 
having  professed  himself  a  Christian,  h^s  fallen,  when 
he  returns  to  his  former  position,  and  becomes  a  mere 
worldly  man  again,  must  he  not  have  been  exalted  ac- 
cording to  the  same  standard,  when  from  his  original 
character  and  profession,  he  became  a  Christian? 
Now  we  do  not  complain  of  this.  We  are  not  sorry 
that  the  world  establishes  so  high  and  perfect  a 
standard  for  us,  as  the  servants  of  Jesus  Christ. 
No.  God  forbid  that  it  should  be  lowered.  But 
how  very  important  and  remarkable  is  the  con- 
cession which  this  standard  makes  to  the  worth  and 
the  dignity  of  the  Gospel !  The  world  allows  that  I 
may  do  on  its  rock  with  honour  and  without  fear,  that 
which  I  cannot  do  upon  our  rock  without  disgrace. 
This  is  its  universal  acknowledgment.  What  is  it, 
but  a  distinct  concession,  that  "  their  rock  is  not  as 
our  rock,  even  our  enemies  themselves  being  the 
judges." 

3.  A  third  concession  is  in  the  frequent  conversions 
which  are  made  from  the  world  to  the  religion  of  the 
Gospel,  whi'le  there  are  no  corresponding  conversions, 
back  from  this  religion  to  the  world.  On  the  one 
side,  there  are  uncounted  millions.  The  history  of 
mankind,  ever  since  the  actual  coming  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  presents  an  incessant  train  of  such  con- 
versions. Three  thousand  on  the  day  of  Pentecost ; 
five  thousand  immediately  afterwards ;  in  the  age  of 
the  apostles,  a  great  multitude,  more  than  man  could 
number !  Down  to  our  day,  the  work  is  still  pro- 
gressing. There  have  been  literally  countless  num- 
bers on  the  one  side  of  this  comparison.  They  have 
p2 


174  THE  christian's  rock. 

all  been  deliberate  conversions  from  the  world ;  each 
of  them  has  been  the  personal,  voluntary,  determined 
forsaking  of  the  rock  of  the  world,  for  the  Christian's 
rock,  by  one  who  was  before  on  the  side  of  the  world, 
and  merely  loved  his  own.  But  where  are  the  cor- 
responding conversions  to  be  produced  on  the  other 
side?  There  are  none.  It  is  vain  for  the  world  to 
boast  as  instances  in  contradiction  to  this  assertion, 
the  victims  of  appetite,  and  self-indulgence,  and  folly ; 
persons,  of  whom  itself  says,  they  have  fallen.  The 
conversions  of  which  we  speak,  are  no  yielding  to  the 
lures  of  sense,  or  the  temptations  of  outward  interest. 
They  have  been  in  the  very  face  of  all  that  the  world 
could  offer,  as  attraction  or  gain.  The  subjects  of 
them  have  had  much,  often  very  much,  to  count  as 
loss  for  Christ.  They  have  been  required  to  suffer 
much  in  coming  to  Christ.  The  very  invitation  which 
was  given  them  to  follow  him,  specified  the  taking  up 
a  cross  for  his  sake.  Their  expectation  was  the  en- 
durance of  persecutions  with  his  people.  And  in  the 
face  of  all  this,  these  children  of  the  world,  who  loved 
the  world,  and  whom  the  world  loved,  have  cliosen 
rather  to  suffer  affliction  with  the  people  of  God,  than 
to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season ;  esteeming 
the  reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than  the  trea- 
sures of  the  world.  Now  we  ask  for  such  instances 
as  corresponding  on  the  side  of  the  world ;  instances 
of  those  who  from  conviction  and  judgment,  have  for- 
saken the  service  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  gone  back  again 
to  the  world.  We  ask  for  those  who  have  done  it, 
not  to  gratify  sensual  appetite,  but  against  their  pre- 
sent worldly  interest.  We  ask  not  for  those  who 
have  fallen  from  a  high  profession,  and  have  become 


THE    christian's   ROCK.  175 

despised  by  the  very  world,  to  which  they  have  re- 
turned, but  for  those  wlio  have  been  purified,  elevated, 
ennobled  in  their  character,  by  the  change ;  or,  at  least, 
have  not  been  lowered  in  their  standard  of  character. 
But  all  the  world  produces  not  a  single  one.  Mil- 
lions of  its  votaries  have  forsaken  it  for  Christ,  and 
they  have  shined  in  the  world  with  a  new  and  glorious 
light,  and  been  crowned  with  a  real  and  undeniable 
excellence  of  character,  as  the  result  of  their  conver- 
sion. In  each  of  these  cases,  the  world  has  given  up 
a  separate  child  to  the  Saviour's  service,  and  made  a 
new  concession  to  his  worth.  Not  one  of  the  real 
disciples  of  Christ  has  ever  forsaken  him  for  the  love 
of  the  present  world  ;  nor  one  professed  disciple,  who 
has  not,  in  the  acknowledgment  of  the  world  to  which 
he  has  returned,  fallen,  when  he  made  the  change  of 
which  it  boasts.  How  remarkable  is  the  concession 
which  the  world  thus  makes,  that  "  their  rock  is  not 
as  our  rock." 

4.  A  fourth  concession,  is  in  the  remarkable,  and 
almost  universal  fact,  that  worldly  men  desire  to  turn 
to  the  religion  of  the  Gospel,  in  all  their  hours  of  dis- 
tress. They  reject  it  in  their  prosperity,  and  say 
they  will  not  hear.  But  when  sorrow  visits  their 
habitation,  or  sickness  lays  hold  of  their  body,  or 
death  standeth  at  the  door,  they  call  for  the  very 
ministrations  which  they  have  so  long  despised.  But 
if  the  Gospel  be  really  valueless,  why  do  they  ask  for 
its  offices  now  ?  Why  cannot  worldly  pleasure  re- 
lieve their  sorrow,  or  worldly  gain  console  their  dis- 
quietude ?  They  have  been,  thus  far,  building  upon 
their  own  rock ;  why  do  they  now  forsake  it,  and  cry 
out  for  some  other  ground  of  hope  ?     Is  not  this  a 


176  THE  christian's  rock. 

distinct  acknowledgment,  that  "  their  rock  is  not  as 
our  rock?"  But  while  this  is  the  general  course  of 
worldly  men  in  hours  of  distress  in  life,  still  more 
universally  do  they  ask  for  the  ministrations  of  the 
Gospel,  in  the  hour  of  death.  Here,  they  all  want, 
and  almost  all  ask  for,  the  comforts  and  promises 
which  Jesus  gives.  But  upon  their  own  principles, 
how  mean,  how  consciously  weak,  is  this  concession  ? 
Why  do  they  not  brave  out  the  difficulty  ?  Why  do 
they  not  strew  the  dying  bed  with  flowers,  and  wake 
the  songs  of  mirth,  and  the  music  of  the  dance,  around 
the  chamber  of  death?  Why  do  they  not  call  for 
their  companions  in  pleasure  or  gain,  and  make  the 
transition  from  life,  as  easy  and  as  delightsome  as  has 
been  the  passage  through  it?  O,  it  is  a  mocking  at 
distress;  they  cannot  do  it.  There  is  a  majesty  in  an 
approaching  Deity  which  they  cannot  resist.  There 
is  a  poverty  in  a  world  which  has  been  tried,  which 
they  cannot  deny.  Their  very  souls  sicken  at  the  re- 
collections of  it. 

0,  pleasures  past,  what  are  ye  now, 
But  thorns  about  my  bleeding  brow  ? 
Spectres  that  hover  round  my  brain, 
And  mock  and  aggravate  my  pain. 

The  rock  upon  which  they  have  attempted  to  main- 
tain themselves,  sinks  beneath  them.  They  are  left 
to  float  in  the  ocean,  distressed,  despairing,  struggling 
for  life,  and  crying  out  with  heart-rending  exclama- 
tions, "  O,  lead  me  to  the  rock  that  is  higher  than  I." 
But  what  means  all  this  change  of  purpose,  and  de- 
sire, and  judgment,  so  common  in  the  men  of  this 
world,  under  the  circumstances  which  I  have  de- 
scribed ?     Is  it  not  on  the  part  of  the  world,  one  of 


THE    christian's    ROCK.  177 

the  most  marked  and  decided  of  all  possible  conces- 
sions to  the  truth  of  our  present  text?  No  dying 
Christian  was  ever  deserted  by  his  beloved  Lord.  No 
departing  believer  ever  called  for  the  vs^orld  to  come 
in,  to  supply  his  w^ants,  because  the  Saviour  in  whom 
he  trusted,  had  neglected  and  forsaken  him.  Millions 
of  dying  sinners  have  besought,  often  with  deep  an- 
guish have  besought  the  Saviour,  for  a  comfort  which 
the  world  has  proved  totally  unable  to  supply.  How 
important  and  distinct  is  this  acknowledgment !  How 
manifest  in  it  is  the  concession,  which  the  world  makes 
to  the  worth  of  the  religion  of  the  Gospel,  in  the 
most  momentous  circumstances  in  which  the  issue  be- 
tween them  can  be  tried  ! 

These  are  some  of  the  concessions  which  the  world 
makes,  that  their  rock  is  not  as  our  rock.  This  is 
the  testimony  which  we  adduce,  as  sufficient  to  sus- 
tain the  comparison  we  have  made.  Our  enemies  are 
the  judges.  We  argue  the  case  before  the  consciences 
and  perceptions  of  unconverted  men.  We  hesitate 
not  to  leave  the  decision  with  their  conscience,  relying 
upon  the  manifestation  of  the  truth  in  the  sight  of  God. 

in.  Let  us  sum  up  the  conclusion  of  this  case,  in 
a  more  direct  application  of  it  to  our  personal  cha- 
racter and  choice. 

Let  its  consideration  lead  all  of  you  who  have 
built  upon  the  Christian's  rock,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
to  be  steadfast,  and  fear  not.  O,  place  your  entire 
confidence  here !  When  sickness  visits  you  in  your 
lonely  chamber,  think  of  your  rock,  and  commune 
with  him  in  your  own  heart  in  renewed  faith,  and  be 
still.  When  distress  comes  upon  you,  think  of  your 
rock,  and  fly  for  shelter  there.     God  will  hide  you  in 

23 


178  THE  christian's  rock. 

its  cleft,  until  every  danger  be  overpassed.  "When 
the  shadows  of  death  gather  around  you,  0  forget  not 
your  rock ;  it  will  be  all  you  want,  all  you  can  want 
forever.  Be  still,  and  wait  in  the  calmness  of  an 
humble  clinging  to  Christ,  to  see  the  salvation  which 
God  will  bring  to  you,  in  that  day.  Whatever  out- 
ward storms  may  threaten  or  harass  you,  there  will 
always  be  repose  and  comfort  here.  You  cannot 
rely  upon  Jesus  too  entirely,  or  too  confidently  be- 
lieve that  he  will  bless  you  forever.  Honour  your 
Lord,  by  unshaken  trust  in  his  power  to  save.  Cast 
yourselves  wholly,  humbly,  and  cheerfully  upon  him, 
and  make  him  your  rock  indeed ;  your  fortress,  your 
high  tower,  into  which  you  may  run  and  be  safe. 

Let  this  subject  persuade  all  before  me,  to  build 
upon  this  glorious  rock  in  time.  Full  salvation  is 
offered  to  the  world,,  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Who- 
soever cometh  unto  him,  shall  in  no  wise  be  cast  out. 
In  him,  and  with  all  who  are  in  him,  the  Father  is 
well  pleased.  The  worth  of  his  promises  you  see 
continually  acknowledged.  The  very  world  which, 
with  its  indulgences,  tempts  you  for  your  ruin,  in  its 
concessions  and  failures,  warns  you  to  flee  for  your 
life.  If  you  are  convinced  of  your  necessity,  you 
are  condemned  out  of  your  own  mouth,  for  your  re- 
fusal of  salvation.  If  you  attend  upon  the  services 
of  religion,  and  still  reject  the  Saviour  who  is  offered 
there,  you  are  still  condemned.  In  every  such  feeling 
and  act,  you  acknowledge  the  worth  of  a  Gospel 
which  you  still  refuse.  O,  build  upon  this  rock  in 
time.  You  will  not  always  have  the  time.  Escape 
from  the  opposing  one  while  there  is  hope.  There 
will  not  always  be  hope.  Make  full  proof  of  your 
privileges,  and  your  salvation  sure. 


XII. 


A    SPIRITUAL    FAMINE. 


Amos  viii.  11,  12. — Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord  God,  that  luaill 
send  c  famine  in  ihe  land;  not  a  famine  of  bread,  nor  a  thirst  for  water; 
but  of  hearing  the  word  of  the  Lord.  Jlnd  they  shall  wander  from  sea 
to  sea,  and  from  the  north  even  to  the  east  ,■  they  shall  run  to  and  fro,  to 
seek  the  word  of  the  Ijord,  and  shall  not  find  it. 

It  is  a  characteristic  principle  of  divine  warnings, 
that  the  woes  which  they  denounce  upon  guilty  men, 
generally  consist  in  the  mere  withdrawal  of  abused 
privileges,  and  the  desertion  of  men  to  gain  their  own 
ends,  in  their  own  ways.  So  very  distinct  and  de- 
termined is  the  tendency  of  the  human  heart  to  an 
entire  and  eternal  alienation  from  God ;  so  incurable  by 
any  self-possessed  power,  is  the  spirit  of  its  rebellion 
and  hostility  against  God ;  so  certain  is  the  progress  of 
the  unconverted  soul,  from  iniquity  unto  iniquity,  down 
to  that  death  which  is  the  wages  of  sin,  that  if  man  be 
only  left  to  himself,  unrestrained  from  on  high,  and  un- 
assisted by  divine  power,  he  becomes  inevitably  de- 
stroyed. There  needs  nothing  for  his  everlasting  ruin, 
but  that  God  should  let  him  alone.  If  he  deprive  him 
of  the  life-giving  power  of  his  Spirit,  and  of  the  blessed 

179 


180  A    SPIRITUAL    FAMINE. 

instruments  of  his  appointment  through  which  this 
Spirit  acts  for  his  salvation ;  and  exercise  no  positive 
energy  of  his  grace  to  rescue  him  from  destruction,  all 
is  done  that  need  be  done  to  make  tliis  destruction 
sure,  and  without  a  remedy.  As  directly  as  the  stone 
seeks  the  centre  of  the  earth,  under  the  power  of  gra- 
vitation, does  the  unconverted  soul  sink  into  the  dark- 
ness of  everlasting  despair  and  condemnation,  under 
the  unrestrained  influence  of  its  own  purposes  and  de- 
sires. Accordingly,  Almighty  God  threatens  nothing, 
and  does  nothing,  more  directly  and  dreadfully  calcu- 
lated to  consign  the  ungodly  to  eternal  misery,  than 
to  forsake  them  with  his  grace,  and  to  suffer  them  to 
fill  themselves  with  their  own  ways.  It  need  never 
be  said,  that  he  casts  the  sinner  into  hell.  Let  him 
only  depart  from  him,  and  exert  no  special  power  to 
arrest  and  save  him,  and  he  sinks  there  of  himself. 
He  remains,  and  must  remain  forever,  a  sinner  against 
God ;  and  as  such,  he  must  be  forever  the  victim  of 
unalleviated,  unchangeable  despair. 

As  a  practical  illustration  of  this  principle,  you  find 
the  Scriptures  warning  men  of  their  dangers  in  an 
unconverted  state,  under  the  simple  idea  and  shape 
of  destitution  and  want.  God  departs  from  them, 
leaves  them,  forsakes  them,  hides  his  face  from 
them,  lets  them  alone;  and  they  thus  gain  the 
punishment  which  their  guilt  deserves,  as  the  har- 
vest of  their  own  sowing,  and  the  fruit  of  their  own 
planting.  This  principle  forms  the  point  upon  which 
the  warning  of  our  present  text  is  rested.  Famine, 
with  all  its  attendant,  multiform  evils,  is  the  simple 
result  of  continued  want  and  deprivation.  And  if 
God  withholds  his  rain  and  his  snow  from  heaven,  all 


A   SPIRITUAL   FAMINE.  181 

its  horrors  come  upon  man  without  any  direct  effort 
or  act  on  his  part  to  confirm  or  increase  it.  Apply 
ing  this  shape  of  illustration  in  our  text,  the  Lord 
God  proclaims  to  sinful  men,  the  result  of  their  negli- 
gence of  his  grace,  and  contempt  of  the  spiritual  mer- 
cies, which  have  been  long  continued  to  them  in  vain. 
He  announces  no  direct  infliction  of  positive  punish- 
ment from  his  hand,  like  the  fire  which  should  con- 
sume them,  or  the  pestilence  which  should  cut  them 
down.  He  simply  declares,  that  he  ''  will  send  a 
famine  among  them,  a  famine  of  hearing  the  words  of 
the  Lord ;"  that  he  will  withdraw  all  direct  spiritual 
interposition,  and  leave  them  to  the  barrenness  of 
their  own  nature ;  that  they  shall  no  more  hear  the 
word  of  the  Lord,  which  they  have  despised;  and 
shall  find  themselves  to  pine,  and  waste,  and  perish, 
under  its  loss ;  that  they  shall  wander  unsatisfied,  in 
search  of  nourishment  and  food  for  their  souls,  under 
the  simple  withholding,  on  |^is  part,  of  privileges 
which  they  have  so  much  neglected  and  abused.  This 
address,  though  made  to  the  Israelites,  is  as  applicable 
to  all  who  have  received  the  privileges  of  a  revelation 
from  God.  With  them,  it  has  been  fearfully  accom- 
plished. Its  fulfilment  with  ourselves,  must  depend 
upon  our  improvement  or  abuse  of  the  privileges  we 
enjoy. 

This  SPIRITUAL  FAMINE,  I  design  to  make  the  sub- 
ject for  your  present  consideration.     I  would  speak, 

I.  Of    the    EVILS    OF    IT. 

II.  Of    THE    FACTS   WHICH    CONSTITUTE    IT. 

III.  Of  the  circumstances  which  lead  to  it. 

IV.  Of  the  way  in  which  it  is  to  be  avoided. 
I.  In  speaking  of  the  evils  of  a  spiritual  famine,  com- 

Q 


182  A    SPIRITUAL    FAMINE. 

paratively  little  need  be  said.  The  Lord  denounces  it 
in  our  text,  as  a  curse,  and  a  punishment.  He  speaks 
of  it  as  far  more  dreadful  than  a  famine  of  bread, 
and  a  thirst  for  water ;  that  is,  as  more  to  be  feared 
and  avoided,  than  the  worst  sufferings  of  the  body, 
and  the  earthly  estate  of  man.  This  is  simply  upon 
the  Saviour's  principle,  that  the  one  kills  the  body, 
and  after  that  hath  no  more  that  it  can  do,  while  the 
other  casts  both  soul  and  body  into  hell.  Man  lives 
not  by  bread  only,  but  by  the  words  which  proceed 
out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Lord.  His  present  life  of 
years  or  days,  is  sustained  by  bodily  food.  But  this 
is  not  worthy  to  be  called  life,  so  soon  passeth  it 
away,  and  he  is  gone.  His  real  life,  the  life  of  his 
spirit,  the  existence  of  his  immortal  part,  is  to  be 
supported  only  by  the  words  of  the  Lord.  It  is  fed 
by  communications  of  divine  grace.  It  is  sustained, 
invigorated,  and  made  happy,  by  those  precious  reve- 
lations of  truth,  which  the  word  of  the  Lord  con- 
tains. The  soul  of  man  lives  upon  an  appropriated 
Saviour,  with  whom  its  life  is  hid  in  security  with 
God,  and  from  whose  fulness  it  receives  grace  upon 
grace.  Give  to  the  soul  of  man,  as  its  own  posses- 
sion, all  that  the  word  of  the  Lord  reveals,  the  new 
created  image  of  the  holy  God  which  it  offers,  the 
completeness  that  is  found  in  Christ  which  it  pro- 
claims, the  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises 
which  it  unfolds ;  and  you  shelter  that  soul  in  ever- 
lasting security,  and  feed  it  upon  the  living  and  life- 
giving  bread,  in  the  strength  of  which  it  may  rejoice 
throughout  eternity.  Take  from  the  soul  of  man, 
this  heavenly  nourishment  which  giveth  life  unto  the 
world,  and  you  leave  it  a  prey  to  the  gnawing  of 


A    SPIRITUAL    FAMINE.  183 

eternal  want,  and  the  mere  vessel  of  eternal  wrath 
and  anguish.  Nothing  can  supply  to  it  the  place  of  the 
incorruptible  word  of  God. 

The  full  evils  of  this  spiritual  famine,  the  result  of 
an  entire  loss  of  the  word  of  the  Lord,  this  world 
cannot  display;  nor  can  man,  in  his  present  state, 
apprehend  them.  You  have  no  power  adequately  to 
conceive  them,  nor  I  to  describe  them.  You  must 
pass  from  the  confines  of  the  present  life,  to  gain  this 
awful  view.  Follow  the  unconverted,  lost  soul,  to  its 
chamber  of  final  despair.  See  it  there,  dark,  and 
lonely,  and  unpitied ;  sitting  in  solitude,  among  mil- 
lions like  itself;  renewing  daily  its  embittered  regrets 
over  the  folly  of  a  life  of  wasted  privileges  which  has 
passed ;  in  the  gloomy  pinings  of  introverted  obser- 
vation, feeding  only  upon  its  own  recollections  of  un- 
necessary guilt ;  groaning  in  anguish,  over  the  remem- 
brance of  days  of  mercy  unimproved ;  yet  groaning 
in  more  bitter  anguish,  that  they  cannot  be  forgotten ; 
crying  in  sorrow,  where  there  is  no  sympathy ;  utter- 
ing its  piercing  complaints  to  ears,  too  filled  with  the 
sounds  of  personal  distress,  to  hear  the  lamentations 
which  others  make  ;  lingering  on  in  this  perpetual 
starvation ;  shrinking,  pining,  under  the  wrath  of  a 
neglected  God ;  dying  an  eternal  death ;  seeking  for 
an  end  that  never  comes ;  longing,  struggling,  for  an 
annihilation  which  is  impossible ;  and  all  this,  spread 
out  through  eternity,  as  the  necessary  condition  of  a 
sinner  who  has  compelled  God  to  leave  him  alone ; 
there,  O  there,  you  find  a  spiritual  famine,  exhibiting 
its  real  evils,  and  shewing  its  actual,  mature  character. 
And  is  it  for  this,  my  brethren,  that  foolish  men  reject 
the  claims  of  religion  and  a  Saviour,  because  they  are 


l&i<  A   SPIRITUAL   FAMINE. 

supposed  to  be  hard  and  burdensome  ?  Is  it  to  take 
up  such  an  eternity  in  weeping,  and  waihng,  and 
gnashing  of  teeth,  that  the  unrenewed  man  casts  from 
him  the  invitations  of  the  Gospel,  continues  to  live 
without  God  in  the  world,  and  turns  away  his  ear 
and  his  heart  from  the  law  of  truth  ?  0,  how  won- 
derful is  such  a  choice  !  How  wonderful  would  it  be, 
if  the  alternative  were  really  unrelieved  distress  for 
the  whole  period  of  the  present  life !  How  much 
better  will  it  be  for  you  to  endure  with  Christ  and  for 
Christ's  sake,  the  utmost  extreme  of  present  suffering 
and  persecution,  than  to  inherit  the  least  part  of  these 
woes  of  a  sinner  who  dies  without  a  Saviour ;  these 
final  evils  of  a  spiritual  famine  !  Yet  Jesus  calls  you 
to  no  such  suffering.  He  gives  in  this  life,  peace 
which  passeth  understanding;  while  he  promises  in 
the  life  to  come,  the  fulness  of  joy,  and  pleasures  for- 
evermore. ,  The  soul  which  in  its  real  conversion  unto 
God,  receives  him,  feeds  upon  heavenly  food  for  time 
and  for  eternity;  and  in  both,  nourished  and  supported 
by  divine  power,  enjoys  the  entire  and  happy  contrast, 
to  the  evils  of  a  spiritual  famine. 

II.  I  would  speak  of  the  facts  which  constitute  a 
spiritual  famine.  The  evils  which  attend  it,  are  de- 
veloped only  in  the  fearful  consummations  of  another 
world.  The  facts  which  make  it  up,  are  facts  of 
man's  experience  here.  To  these  I  now  refer.  It  is 
described  in  our  text  as  "a  famine  of  hearing  the 
words  of  the  Lord;"  and  it  is  exhibited  as  so  entire 
and  overspreading,  that  the  men  who  suffer  it,  wander 
through  the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  in 
search  of  the  spiritual  food  which  they  need,  without 
success. 


A   SPIRITUAL    FAMINE.  185 

To  constitute  such  a  famine,  both  in  appearance 
and  in  fact,  there  will  be  found,  sometimes,  an  entire 
removal  from  a  people,  of  all  the  ordinances  and  pri- 
vileges of  the  Gospel,  that  only  life-giving  vv^ord  of 
God.  The  history  of  the  Christian  world  abounds 
with  instances  of  this,  when,  as  a  direct  punishment 
for  the  abuse  of  the  privileges  of  the  Gospel,  by  those 
who  have  enjoyed  its  light  without  improving  it,  God 
has  removed  the  candlestick  out  of  its  place,  and  the 
immoralities  of  absolute  imposture  and  falsehood,  or 
the  superstition  and  darkness  of  a  total  corruption 
of  Christianity,  have  been  allowed  to  occupy  the 
entire  place  which  the  bright  kingdom  of  the  Saviour's 
truth  had  filled  before.  The  face  of  the  nominal  Chris- 
tian world  in  its  eighteen  centuries  of  exhibition,  has 
presented  numerous  illustrations  of  this  remark.  And 
young  as  this  land  is  in  its  Christian  history,  there  are 
already  facts  in  its  record,  exhibiting  a  removal  of  the 
ordinances  and  provisions  of  the  Gospel,  from  por- 
tions of  its  community,  almost  as  entire.  Such  a  re- 
moval of  the  appointed  instruments  of  salvation,  con- 
stitutes a  spiritual  famine.  Men  cannot  believe  in 
him,  of  whom  they  do  not  hear,  nor  hear  without  a 
preacher. 

Next  to  this,  there  is  found  often,  a  withdrawal 
from  a  community  who  still  retain  the  name,  if  not 
the  external  form  of  Christianity,  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel  in  its  peculiar  truths.  An  entire  defection  from 
the  vital  doctrines  and  principles  of  Christianity,  is 
suffered  to  take  place  among  large  bodies  of  professed 
Christians,  as  the  simple  result  of  a  failure  in  the  im- 
provement of  the  blessings  which  were  thus  bestowed. 
What  numbers  in  our  day  have  sunk  down  into  the 
Q  2  24 


186  A   SPIRITUAL    FAMINE. 

frozen  depths  of  Socinianism  in  actual  profession; 
nay,  verging  apparently  upon  the  very  border  of 
Atheism  ;  who  once  possessed  and  neglected  the 
blessed  offering  of  a  pure  Gospel !  What  numbers 
in  the  retaining  of  a  theoretical  orthodoxy,  have  filled 
the  pulpit  with  the  morals  of  Seneca,  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  crucified  Christ,  whom  Paul  preached !  So 
that  within  the  limits  of  our  knowledge  of  men  around 
us,  there  are  thousands  who  never  hear  of  the  revealed 
way  of  divine  salvation ;  and  who,  in  regard  to  all  pe- 
culiarities in  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  are  as  much 
in  a  famine  of  the  word  of  the  Lord,  as  if  absolute 
heathenism  had  reared  its  temple,  and  they  had  gather- 
ed for  the  worship  of  its  gods.  Multitudes  around 
us,  hear  no  more  of  man's  conversion  by  the  Spirit 
of  God,  or  of  his  justification  in  the  perfect  righteous- 
ness of  Christ,  than  if  there  was  not  a  preacher  of  the 
truth  of  God  standing  upon  our  soil.  Now,  what- 
ever privileges  may  elsewhere  be  found  among  us, 
this  is,  for  them,  a  spiritual  famine,  almost  as  entire 
as  is  to  be  found  in  lands  without  even  the  form  of 
the  Gospel.  And  while  faith  cometh  by  hearing,  and 
hearing  by  the  word  of  God,  it  is  as  certain  a  prepa- 
ration for  all  the  evils  of  a  spiritual  famine,  as  if  the 
bread  of  God  could  nowhere  be  found. 

Next  to  this,  in  fact,  if  not  in  appearance,  is  there 
a  spiritual  famine,  when,  though  the  truth  of  God  be 
still  proclaimed,  there  is  no  power  communicated  from 
above,  to  carry  it  with  life-giving  efficacy  to  the  souls 
of  men.  Sinful  men  are  to  be  sanctified  and  made 
holy  through  the  truth ;  but  it  is  God  who  sanctifies 
them.  And  if  they  waste  the  opportunities  which  he 
affords  them  to  gain  this  spiritual  increase,  or  if  he 


A    SPIRITUAL    FAMINE.  187 

withhold  the  power  of  his  grace,  Paul  plants,  and 
Apollos  waters,  in  vain.  How  often,  how  persever- 
ingly  sometimes,  is  Christ  preached  among  men,  as 
the  wisdom  of  God,  and  the  power  of  God,  when  no 
heart  yields  to  the  sacred  message,  and  no  soul  is 
born  for  God,  under  the  operation  of  the  truth  !  Men 
have  wearied  God  with  their  sins,  and  made  him  to 
serve  with  their  iniquities,  until  he  has  arisen  and  de- 
parted from  them.  They  have  turned  the  grace  of 
God  into  licentiousness,  and  have  corrupted  the  prac- 
tice of  religion  with  a  conformity  to  the  course  of 
this  world,  until,  it  would  seem,  that  if  Noah,  Daniel, 
and  Job  were  among  them,  these  should  but  deliver 
their  own  souls  by  their  righteousness ;  men  around 
should  not  be  benefited  or  blessed  by  them.  Now, 
whatever  appearance  there  may  be  of  church  order, 
or  spiritual  authority  connected  with  it,  this  is  a  real 
famine  of  the  word  of  the  Lord.  All  that  was  nour- 
ishing and  saving  in  the  dispensation  of  the  Gospel, 
has  been  separated  from  it,  and  the  preaching  of  it 
now,  is  without  effect.  There  is  no  going  forth  of 
religion  in  its  progress  to  spiritual  conquests.  No 
gathering  souls  are  enquiring  with  eagerness,  the  way 
to  glory  and  to  God.  Coldness,  and  lethargy,  and 
spiritual  apathy  and  slumber  creep  over  the  minds, 
and  bind  up  the  affections  of  men.  They  hear  with- 
out feeling,  almost  without  consciousness.  They  are 
exhorted  without  effect.  The  good  seed  is  choked 
and  destroyed,  before  it  can  spring  up  to  bring  forth 
its  fruit ;  and  no  converted  souls  rise  up  to  give  the 
glory  of  the  work  of  grace  to  God.  Under  such  cir- 
cumstances, as  far  as  it  regards  the  real,  spiritual  con- 
dition of  men,  whatever  soundness,  or  spirituality,  or 


188  A   SPIRITUAL   FAMINE. 

ardour  may  characterize  the  preacher,  there  is  a  spi- 
ritual famine  among  the  people ;  and  the  evils  of  it, 
in  their  dreadful  aggregate,  will  come  upon  perishing 
souls.  This  is  sent  by  the  Lord  of  hosts  as  a  punish- 
ment for  man's  iniquity,  a  recompense  for  the  neglect 
and  abuse  of  a  life-giving  Gospel.  The  word  no 
longer  profits,  because  it  is  not  mixed  with  faith  in 
them  that  hear.  And  men  pine  and  perish  in  this 
spiritual  atrophy,  though  the  food  which  ought  to  give 
them  life,  and  which  would  have  done  it  before  they 
were  so  hopelessly  diseased,  is  still  abundant.  O, 
what  numbers  among  us  are  thus  suffering  all  the  in- 
cipient evils  of  spiritual  famine !  Their  cold,  and 
careless,  and  dead  souls,  are  sinking  down  to  eternal 
sorrow.  Bread  from  heaven  lies  all  around  their 
tents,  and  they  tread  it  under  their  feet,  but  will  not 
gather  and  eat  it.  God  is  sending  them  a  strong  de- 
lusion, that  they  should  believe  a  lie,  because  they 
take  pleasure  in  unrighteousness.  The  days  of  final 
and  entire  desertion  are  rapidly  coming  on  for  them ; 
days  when  they  shall  wander  to  and  fro  for  spiritual 
bread,  and  shall  not  find  it ;  when  they  shall  desire  to 
see  the  days  of  the  Son  of  Man,  in  vain ;  when  they  shall 
utter  the  exceeding  strong  and  bitter  cry  of  rejected 
Esau,  "  wilt  thou  not  bless  me,  even  me  also,"  and 
find  no  merciful  response ;  when  no  place  shall  be 
found  for  repentance  in  the  Judge  by  whom  they  are 
condemned,  though  they  "  seek  it  carefully  with 
tears."  In  the  dark  hours  which  lead  down  to  death, 
and  the  far  darker  hours  which  lead  on  after  it,  they 
are  preparing  to  find,  in  the  entire  deprivation  of 
spiritual  comfort  and  safety,  the  real  character,  and 
the  real  result,  of  a  famine  of  the  word  of  the  Lord. 


A    SPIRITUAL    FAMINE.  189 

III.  I  would  speak  of  the  circumstances  which 
lead  to  this  spiritual  famine.  Some  of  these  are  cer- 
tainly on  the  side  of  the  preacher  of  the  word.  And 
if  I  were  addressing  the  company  of  preachers,  it 
would  be  my  duty  to  enlarge  upon  them.  When 
there  is  in  the  pulpit,  a  hiding  of  the  light  of  the 
Gospel;  when, 

Though  Paul  may  serve  him  with  a  text, 
Yet  Epictetus,  Plato,  Tully,  preach  ; 

when,  in  the  exalting  of  inferior  things,  and  in  negli- 
gence of  greater,  Christ  is  thrust  from  his  own  sanc- 
tuary, and  some  other  name  predominates,  and  some 
other  master  is  served ;  ,the  preacher  leads  on  to  a 
famine  of  the  word  of  the  Lord.  Wo  unto  them  bv 
whom  such  oifences  come !  But  to  this  large  class 
of  circumstances,  I  cannot  now  particularly  refer. 
My  duty  at  this  time,  is  to  warn  and  admonish  those 
who  now  listen  to  me ;  and  to  point  out  the  facts 
among  us,  and  perceived  by  us,  which  are  likely  to 
lead  to  a  famine  of  the  saving  truth  of  the  Gospel — 
facts  which,  to  a  great  extent,  are  found  among  all 
bodies  of  professing  Christians,  and  which  especially 
concern  us,  in  the  communion  to  which  we  belong. 

Among  these,  I  name  first,  the  spirit  of  sectarian 
division  and  controversy ;  the  fondness  for  partisan 
warfare  among  the  various  denominations  of  the 
church  of  Christ,  which  is  so  exceedingly  manifest. 
If  there  is  an  aspect  of  religious  things  in  the  present 
day,  over  which  the  soul  of  a  true  Christian  must 
sicken,  it  is  this  fruitless  disposition  to  magnify  out- 
ward distinctions  above  spiritual  realities.  Whether 
a  man  be  found  on  one  side  or  the  other,  of  some  un- 
certain, arbitrary  line  of  difference,   seems  in  some 


190  A    SPIRITUAL   FAMINE. 

minds,  to  be  of  more  consequence,  and  to  be  more 
considered,  than  whether  he  be  as  a  converted,  or  an 
unconverted  man,  a  child  of  God,  or  a  child  of  the  evil 
one.  This  dividing  spirit  appears  to  be  a  charac- 
teristic of  a  portion  of  all  Christian  denominations  in 
the  present  day.  And  vs^hen  all  the  people  of  God 
should  be  thoroughly  united  in  the  great  controversy 
of  the  Lord  vv^ith  sin,  the  strength  of  numbers  is  di- 
verted in  the  attempt  to  depreciate,  if  not  to  destroy, 
others,  because  they  follow  not  with  them.  The  in- 
dulgence of  this  dividing  spirit,  leads  directly  to  a 
spiritual  famine.  I  believe  Satan  could  in  no  way  be 
better  served  or  pleased,  than  to  have  every  pulpit  in 
the  land  occupied  thus.  While  all  time,  and  tongues, 
and  talents,  are  given  to  this  work  of  self-exaltation, 
and  mutual  depreciation,  Christ  is  put  out  of  view, 
and  the  result  of  persisting  in  it,  will  be  the  extin- 
guishing of  the  light  of  Gospel  truth  in  the  land.  As 
far  as  my  voice  may  have  influence,  I  would  urge  you 
to  watch  against  this  sectarian  spirit,  as  leading  di- 
rectly to  a  banishment  of  the  Gospel.  Rejoice  when 
Christ  is  preached.  Rejoice  when  the  numbers  mul- 
tiply who  preach  him.  Rejoice  if  God  confirms  his 
word  with  the  power  of  his  grace.  Allow  not  your- 
selves to  be  pleased  with  expressions  of  hostile  or 
contemptuous  feelings  in  reference  to  other  classes  of 
the  followers  of  Christ.  Contend  only  for  the  pre- 
cious faith  of  the  Gospel,  and  for  that  only  with  the 
spirit  and  the  mind  of  Christ. 

Another  circumstance  leading  to  a  spiritual  famine, 
is  a  conformity  among  professing  Christians,  to  the 
course  of  this  world.  I  do  not  mean  to  touch  that 
deluding  question,  "  to  what  extent  may  we  go  in  the 


A   SPIRITUAL   FAMINE.  191 

giddiness  of  this  world?"  a  question,  which  in  the 
hands  of  a  skilful  enemy,  leads  off  the  point  of  divi- 
sion, till  man  has  passed  far  beyond  it.  The  point  of 
sinful  conformity  to  the  world,  however  diflicult  to 
mark  out  in  a  circumstantial,  calculating  theory,  is 
quick  and  open  to  the  perception  of  conscience,  and 
to  the  decisions  of  the  common  sense  of  men.  And 
it  is  a  manifest  violation  of  both,  to  say  that  a  spiritual 
mind  may  be  carried,  or  found,  in  the  gay  and  bril- 
liant assemblies  of  the  thoughtless  children  of  the 
world,  where  the  mention  even  of  the  name  of  Deity, 
save  in  the  idle  exclamation  of  the  unsanctified  mind, 
would  be  counted  an  intrusion,  and  rejected  as  in- 
tolerable. Such  scenes  in  human  society,  though 
elevated,  and  attractive,  and  refined,  according  to  the 
standard  of  the  wovld,  are  the  abode  and  nursery  of 
undisguised  hostility  to  Christ.  And  it  exhibits  a 
state  of  coldness  in  religion,  and  inditference  to  the 
respectability  of  religion,  little  less  than  shocking, 
when  the  professed  participant  in  the  body  and  blood 
of  the  Lord  avows  himself  to  find  nothing  in  them, 
incompatible  with  the  life  and  power  of  his  devotion. 
This  practical  betrayal  and  wounding  of  the  Saviour 
in  the  house  of  his  friends,  leads  directly  to  a  spiritual 
famine.  In  the  individual,  it  is  found  to  be,  not  the 
attendant,  but  the  alternative  of  religion.  If  it  pro- 
gresses as  the  spirit  of  the  professed  religious  com- 
munity, it  results  in  a  simple  and  confirmed  sacrifice 
of  the  life-giving  power  of  the  Gosp'el,  for  the  mere 
friendship  of  the  world,  which  is  enmity  witli  God. 
The  spirit  of  prayer  faints  and  dies.  The  meetings 
of  Christians  for  prayer,  flag  and  fail.  The  cold  and 
haughty  temper  of  the  world  stands  with  its  proud 


192  A    SPIRITUAL   FAMINE. 

feet  to  rule  the  sanctuary.  And  however  faithful, 
and  bold,  and  persevering,  may  be  the  watchman  upon 
the  walls,  the  people  take  no  warning,  and  he  but  de- 
livers his  own  soul.  Principles  and  habits  of  this  de- 
structive character,  like  poison  in  a  fountain,  are  sent 
down  in  every  family  stream.  And  God  withdraws 
every  gift  of  his  Spirit  from  a  people,  who  thus 
strengthen  each  other  in  their  sins,  and  say  in  the 
pride  of  their  boasting,  "  we  are  delivered  to  do  all 
these  abominations." 

An  unbelieving  rejection  of  the  spiritual  claims  of 
tlie  Gospel,  and  a  misimprovement  of  the  mercies  which 
a  Saviour  bestows,  lead  a  people  with  certainty  to  this 
famine  of  the  word  of  the  Lord.  The  habit  of  un- 
moved and  heartless  hearing  of  the  Gospel,  prepares 
the  way  for  the  certain  loss  of  all  the  blessings  which 
th^  Gospel  gives.  It  is  a  most  fearful  circumstance 
in  the  life  and  destiny  of  a  man,  if  he  has  been  long 
sitting  under  the  preaching  of  the  truth,  and  remains 
still  an  unchanged  man.  He  has  then,  so  often  re- 
jected the  message  from  God,  which  said  to  him, 
"  to-day,  hear  my  voice,  and  harden  not  your  heart," 
that  it  has  lost  its  power  upon  his  conscience.  He 
has  resisted  so  many  arguments  of  the  holy  Scripture, 
that  he  is  now  fenced  in,  and  protected  by  his  own 
embankments.  And  however  light  and  giddy  may  be 
his  worldly  heart,  while  the  present  world  remains 
unscathed  for  him,  he  is  rapidly  approaching  to  a  wil- 
derness where  there  is  no  water,  and  where  the  whole 
staff  of  bread  is  broken.  A  sad  and  lonely  place, 
indeed,  he  will  find  it.  He  is  there  without  God,  for 
he  has  driven  him  from  his  heart  and  thoughts.  He 
is  without  other  comfort,  for  it  has  failed  and  perished 


A   SPIRITUAL   FAMINE.  193 

from  him,  in  its  own  decay.  And  he  lies  down  to 
perish  in  wretched  despair,  simply  because  he  rejected 
the  bread  of  life,  when  it  was  bountifully  provided, 
and  it  is  now  offered  to  him  no  more.  There  is  found 
much  in  a  spiritual  and  animated  body  of  Christians, 
to  influence  the  feelings  and  determinations  of  sin- 
ners around,  and  to  call  them  into  the  fold  of  Christ, 
by  God's  employment  of  the  power  of  sympathy. 
And  there  is  much  also,  in  a  cold,  and  formal,  and 
worldly-minded  congregation,  to  repel  the  progress 
of  each  other  towards  God,  and  by  the  same  power 
of  sympathy  to  drive  others  back  to  the  service  of  the 
world  and  sin.  Thus  as  a  spirit  of  indifference  to 
the  truth,  of  procrastination  of  the  service  of  God, 
and  of  careless  hearing  of  the  divine  message  to  man, 
spreads  among  a  people,  it  becomes  itself  established 
there,  and  leads  directly  to  a  famine  of  the  word  of 
the  Lord,  for  the  souls  over  whom  it  reigns. 

Connected  with  this  spirit  of  unbelieving  indiffe- 
rence, a  neglect  of  the  appointed  ordinances  and  in- 
stitutions of  the  Gospel  leads  to  the  same  result. 
When  the  Sabbath  is  but  little  regarded ;  when  the 
sanctuary  of  God  is  neglected  ;  when  the  Lord's  table 
is  surrounded  but  by  a  few  of  the  many  to  whom  its 
privileges  are  offered ;  when  the  assembling  together 
of  the  people  of  God,  either  on  occasions  of  public 
worship,  or  on  the  more  private  occasions  of  the 
evening  lecture,  and  the  meeting  for  prayer,  is  but  the 
bringing  of  two  or  three  in  his  name ;  there  is  a  rapid 
progress  among  a  people  to  a  total  famine  of  the 
word  of  the  Lord.  True  religion  will  not,  cannot 
flourish  among  us,  nor  a  revival  of  effectual,  active 
piety  take  place,  but  in  proportion  to  our  eager  atten- 
R  25 


194  A    SPIRITUAL    FAMINE. 

tion  to  these  occasions  of  united  worship.  I  would 
that  all  the  Lord's  people  were  prophets ;  and  that 
we  had  in  every  congregation,  active,  zealous,  and 
pious  laymen,  to  help  the  pastor  in  his  work,  and  to 
maintain  the  habitual,  weekly  meeting,  for  social 
prayer.  It  is  this  which  draws  down  a  blessing  upon 
a  people,  and  makes  the  Sabbath's  preaching  of  the 
Gospel,  effective  and  powerful.  It  is  here,  that  the 
heavy  laden  find  comfort,  the  weary  refreshment,  and 
all  the  people  of  God  life  and  peace.  And  when 
these  meetings  are  neglected,  or  opposed,  among  any 
people,  soon  all  other  shapes  of  religious  service  be- 
come formal  and  useless.  Gould  I  make  the  voice  of  my 
own  experience  sound  throughout  the  whole  borders 
of  our  church,  it  would  be  to  urge  all  who  seek  the 
divine  blessing,  and  the  prosperity  of  our  communion, 
to  establish  and  maintain,  and  prize,  as  a  chief  means 
of  benefit,  and  a  chief  promoter  of  a  revival  of  religion, 
the  habitual,  social  meeting  of  Christians,  for  exhort- 
ation and  prayer.  How  many  souls  have  found  the 
blessing  of  the  living  God  recorded  here,  for  them ! 
Who  hath  ever  opposed  them,  and  found  spiritual 
prosperity  bestowed  from  God  upon  himself? 

But  upon  these  circumstances  which  lead  to  a 
famine  of  the  word  of  the  Lord,  I  can  enlarge  no 
more.  Consider  whether  they  are  to  be  found  among 
yourselves.  See  whether  the  worm  of  sectarianism 
is  eating  at  the  heart  of  your  religious  character ;  or 
the  blight  of  worldly  conformity  is  withering  it  from 
the  exterior ;  or  the  chill  of  indifference  is  binding  it 
with  its  frost ;  or  the  rude  hand  of  neglect  of  spiritual 
duties  and  privileges,  is  plucking  it  roughly  away.  In 
all  these  circumstances,  you  will  find  a  separate,  but 


A   SPIRITUAL    FAMINE.  195 

certain  introduction  to  that  spiritual  famine  in  which 
you  will  be  stricken  through,  in  want  of  the  blessed 
fruits  which  have  thus  been  despised  and  destroyed. 

IV.  I  would  speak  of  the  way  in  which  these  evils 
may  be  averted.  Much  that  might  well  be  said  on 
this  point,  has  been  already  anticipated.  My  time 
will  allow  me  but  little  in  addition.  That  little,  how- 
ever, I  would  earnestly  press  upon  your  attention.  I 
feel  the  danger  of  which  I  have  spoken,  to  be  an 
actual  and  an  immediate  one  among  us.  1  feel  bound 
to  do  my  poor  utmost  to  avert  it. 

I  would  urge  you  to  prize  highly  the  faithful  dis- 
pensation of  the  word  of  God.  If  an  unveiled  Gos- 
pel is  presented  to  your  minds,  and  the  Almighty 
Spirit  of  God  is  ready  to  apply  it  to  your  hearts, 
learn  to  estimate  it,  as  the  happiest,  and  the  most  im- 
portant distinction  of  your  lives ;  never  undervalue 
tlie  precious  blessing  of  having  the  truth  of  God 
spoken  to  you,  as  in  the  sight  of  God  who  searcheth 
the  hearts,  however  humbling  or  alarming  may  be 
many  of  its  declarations.  If  the  ministers  of  Christ 
ask  their  counsel  of  him,  and  not  of  the  lusts  of  men ; 
if  they  draw  their  arguments  and  motives  from 
eternity,  without  any  truckling  to  the  course  of  this 
world,  they  may  often  appear  to  ungodly  men,  as 
Elijah  did  to  Ahab,  as  men  that  trouble  Israel.  The 
proud  hearts  and  wills  of  unsubdued  sinners  always 
kick  against  the  truth,  and  always  resist  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Faithful  ministers  are  not  alarriied,  or  sur- 
prised at  this.  My  brethren,  be  not  you  amo-^  this 
number  of  opposers.  If  the  men  of  God  dare  to 
save  you,  in  defiance  of  your  own  esteem  of  them, 
prizo  and  honour  such  ministrations,  as  God's  chief 


196  A    SPIRITUAL    FAMINE. 

blessing  to  you.  Encourage  them,  hold  up  their 
hands,  defend  their  efforts  in  doing  good,  and  bless 
God,  that  your  eyes  are  permitted  to  look  upon,  and 
your  ears  to  listen  to  teachers,  whom  he  has  made 
faithful  in  all  his  house. 

I  would  entreat  you  to  pray  for  the  success  of  the 
word  of  God.  Its  great  object  is,  the  conversion  of 
the  ungodly,  and  the  restoration  of  this  fallen  world 
to  God.  Let  this  object  in  all  its  magnitude  and  im- 
portance, be  kept  before  you.  In  private  and  in 
public  prayer,  seek  from  God  the  power  of  his  grace, 
to  attend  and  bless  the  preaching  of  his  truth.  The 
great  instrument  for  the  use  of  which  he  has  commis- 
sioned his  ministry,  and  by  which  he  will  save  the 
world,  is  what  men  may  call  the  foolishness  of  preach- 
ing. The  more  spiritual,  constant,  and  bold  are  the 
preachers  of  the  Gospel,  the  more  abundantly  will 
the  world  be  blessed.  But  all  the  power  to  bless 
must  come  from  God.  To  him,  therefore,  learn  to 
look  habitually,  and  earnestly,  for  his  blessing  upon 
the  labours  of  his  ministers.  Let  all  the  hearts 
among  us  that  have  found  access  unto  God  in  an  ac- 
cepted Saviour,  cry  unto  him,  for  the  demonstration 
of  his  Spirit,  and  divine  power,  to  carry  home  the 
truth  to  those  who  hear  it,  that  multitudes  may  be 
brought  in  to  be  with  us,  on  the  side  of  the  Son  of 
David,  in  this  ungodly  world.  And  whether  within 
the  limits  of  your  own  special  congregation,  or  amidst 
the  necessities  of  the  world  abroad,  your  hearts  and 
thoughts  be  at  any  time  fixed,  O  pray  for  the  success 
of  the  word  of  God,  in  the  Gospel  of  his  Son,  in  the 
conversion  of  the  lost,  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto 
him. 


A   SPIRITUAL   FAMINE.  197 

I  would  press  upon  you,  to  profit  yourselves  by  the 
publication  of  the  Gospel.  Seek  the  conversion,  the 
sanctification,  the  edifying  of  your  own  souls  under 
its  influence.  Your  days  of  grace  are  precious.  Pre- 
cious to  you,  is  every  offer  of  a  Saviour's  love,  every 
awakening  admonition  of  the  Spirit  of  grace,  every 
dispensation  of  the  truth  which  makes  men  free, 
every  Sabbath's  privilege,  every  hour  of  prayer.  O, 
suffer  not  your  opportunities  to  pass,  and  your  hearts 
to  remain  unaffected,  and  cold,  and  alienated  from 
God,  amidst  such  dispensations  of  divine  mercy.  It 
is  high  time  you  had  all  awaked  out  of  sleep,  and 
were  found  in  a  new  birth  of  the  Spirit,  accepted  be- 
fore God,  and  sheltered  in  the  provisions  of  his  love. 
Trifle  no  longer  with  the  proffers  of  divine  grace.  O 
cast  in  your  lot  even  now,  with  a  waiting  Saviour. 
Return  with  him  to  that  Father's  house,  where  there 
is  bread  enough  and  to  spare,  and  where  you  shall 
find  eternal  life  for  your  souls.  And  in  the  certain 
hope,  which  is  the  privilege  of  his  people,  the  assured 
salvation  which  is  covenanted  to  them  in  the  sufferings 
and  obedience  of  their  great  Redeemer,  bread  shall  be 
given  you,  and  living  water  shall  be  sure  forever. 


&2 


XIII. 


LITTLE     SINS. 


Genesis  xix.  20. — Is  it  not  a  little  one  ?  and  my  soul  shall  live. 

Our  blessed  Lord  lays  it  down  as  a  principle  of 
human  conduct,  and  of  human  responsibility,  "  he 
that  is  faithful  in  that  which  is  least,  is  faithful  also  in 
much ;  and  he  that  is  unjust  in  the  least,  is  unjust  also 
in  much."  Though  a  man  start  back,  and  shrink 
from  great  transgressions,  if  he  allow  himself  in 
known  offences  against  God,  which  appear  to  him  of 
a  smaller  character,  he  manifests  that  the  spirit  and 
disposition  of  his  heart  are  still  guilty,  and  opposed 
to  God.  The  claims  of  true  piety  and  obedience  not 
only  require  that  we  should  be  kept  back  from  pre- 
sumptuous sins,  but  that  we  should  be  cleansed  also 
from  secret  faults. 

The  incident  connected  with  our  text,  may  be 
viewed  as  an  illustration  of  this.  Lot  hesitated  in 
an  entire  and  thorough  obedience  of  the  divine  com- 
mands, and  would  have  compromised  with  their  claims 
upon  him,  by  the  offer  of  an  inferior  submission.  He 
had  come  out  of  Sodom,  as  God  had  directed  him. 

198 


LITTLE    SINS.  199 

But  when  the  heavenly  messengers  had  brought  him 
forth  abroad,  and  said,  "  escape  for  thy  hfe,  look  not 
behind  thee,  neither  stay  thou  in  all  the  plain ;  escape 
to  the  mountain,  lest  thou  be  consumed;"  he  hesitated 
in  following  out  their  earnest  address.  He  had  shewed 
himself  willing  to  obey  to  a  certain  extent.  But  he 
was  not  willing  to  obey  to  the  utmost  extent  of  the 
requisition.  He  answered  to  the  angel,  "  O,  not  so, 
my  Lord  !  behold  now  this  city  is  near  to  flee  unto; 
and  it  is  a  little  one.  Let  me  escape  thither.  Is  it 
not  a  little  one  ?  and  my  soul  shall  live."  God  would 
teach  him  by  his  own  experience,  and  for  a  little  while 
endured  with  his  folly,  that  he  might  learn  how  pooi 
a  refuge  his  sinful  heart  had  selected  for  himself  The 
result  was  as  the  Lord  designed  it.  He  was  soon 
glad  to  escape  from  the  little  city  which  he  had  se- 
lected, and  which  had  been  spared  for  a  time,  for  his 
sake,  to  the  mountain  which  the  Lord  had  pointed 
out. 

Lot  stands  before  us  as  an  example  and  testimony; 
and  it  is  the  principle  whicli  is  displayed  in  this  illus- 
tration, of  which  I  wish  to  speak.  I  see  in  the  inci- 
dent, a  principle  whicli  is  exhibited  in  the  conduct 
and  character  of  multitudes,  who  profess  to  be  the  ser- 
vants of  God,  and  who  attempt  to  cover  up  transgres- 
sions because  they  are  esteemed  little,  and  pass  over 
faults  which  they  deem  of  little  consequence,  in  the 
hope  that  their  souls  shall  live.  But  it  is  a  principle 
which  will  be  found  in  all  cases  as  great  a  mistake  in 
calculation,  as  it  was  in  the  case  connected  with  our 
text.  An  inattention  to  those  which  are  considered 
small  things  in  religion ;  a  disregard  to  the  guilt  of 
those  which  are  supposed  to  be  little  sins ;  and  an 


200  LITTLE    SINS. 

allowed  commission  of  these  sins,  on  the  ground  that 
they  are  of  inferior  consequence ;  are  the  source  of 
vast  evil,  and  of  vast  danger  to  the  souls  of  men. 
However  long  endured,  they  are  uniformly  found  at 
last,  a  Zoar,  in  which  the  soul  of  man  cannot  live. 
The  evil  and  danger  of  this  inattention  to  little  things 
in  the  cultivation  of  religious  character,  is  a  subject 
which  I  propose  now  to  consider. 

The  men  of  this  world  understand  the  necessity  of 
a  vigilant  attention  to  the  smaller  outlets  of  waste,  in 
order  to  the  attainment  of  success  and  prosperity,  in 
earthly  pursuits.  It  is  deemed  a  wise  proverb  in  their 
affairs,  "  take  care  of  your  pence,  and  your  pounds 
will  take  care  of  themselves."  They  will  ask  for  no 
surer  indication  of  a  spendthrift,  than  the  habitual 
contempt  of  little  things,  in  the  system  upon  which 
the  business  of  life  is  conducted.  Negligence  in  this 
respect,  will  go  far  towards  clothing  a  man  with  rags. 
Diligence,  assiduity,  and  persevering  economy  in 
small  expenses,  not  disjoined  from  a  spirit  of  libe- 
rality and  kindness  to  the  needy,  have  raised  multi- 
tudes, who  had  no  remarkable  share  of  natural  talents, 
and  no  peculiar  experience  of  what  the  world  calls 
good  fortune,  to  the  highest  posts  of  earthly  influence 
and  honour. 

This  is  equally  the  principle  of  certain  success  in 
the  concerns  of  the  soul.  There  must  be  in  that 
merchandise  which  is  better  than  silver,  to  which  the 
heart  and  thoughts  of  the  real  Christian  are  directed, 
and  to  an  interest  in  which  the  hearts  of  all  are  in- 
vited in  the  Gospel,  the  very  same  attention  to  mat- 
ters which  are  too  often  considered  trifling  and  in- 
different.    The  most  lamentable   consequences  in  a 


LITTLE    SINS.  201 

Christian's  life  often  date  their  origin  from  some  small 
act  which  is  suffered  to  grow  into  a  principle ;  from 
some  incidental  occurrence  which  ministered  tempta- 
tions that  were  heedlessly  encouraged ;  or  from  a 
failure  in  habitual  watchfulness  in  something  which 
was  considered  unimportant  in  its  influence.  The 
conflagration  which  fills  the  proudest  city  with  deso- 
lation and  ruin,  was  in  its  first  appearance,  a  little 
spark,  which  a  single  drop  of  water  would  have  easily 
extinguished.  The  storm  which  covers  the  face  of  the 
heavens  with  its  blackness,  and  pours  its  torrents  of 
devastation  upon  the  earth,  was  seen  in  its  incipient 
state,  to  arise  a  little  cloud  out  of  the  sea,  like  a 
man's  hand.  Thus  will  it  be  found  also,  in  the  most 
destructive  concessions  in  a  Christian's  life.  The 
unheeded  lusts  of  the  eye,  the  disregarded  risings  of 
mental  passion,  the  momentary  excitement  and  in- 
dulgence of  sensual  appetite,  only  Serve  to  lay  open 
a  way  which  will  continually  widen,  to  habitual  trans- 
gression, irreparable  loss,  and  even  the  final  destruc- 
tion of  the  soul.  You  may  as  easily  set  bounds  to 
the  flowdng  of  the  sea,  and  in  the  tempest's  raging, 
command  the  swelling  wave  to  stop  its  course,  as 
arrest  the  triumphant  progress  which  you  have  given 
by  indulgence, to  a  headstrong  lust,  and  say,  "hitherto 
shalt  thou  come,  but  no  farther."  The  man  who  will 
walk  with  God  in  the  comfort  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
must  fix  his  unremitted  and  suspicious  inspection  upon 
the  smallest  incidents  of  his  life ;  and  test  the  power 
of  his  principles,  by  the  minuteness  of  application, 
to  which  they  can  be  carried.  If  a  man  finds  that 
he  is  not  always  a  religious  man ;  if  he  perceives  that 
the   great  principles  by  which  he  professes   to  be 

26 


202  LITTLE    SINS. 

governed,  are  iiot  habitually  carried  out,  he  will  un- 
doubtedly find  the  reason,  and  the  commencement  of 
the  deficiency  which  he  laments,  in  the  point  of  warn- 
ing and  experience  of  which  we  are  now  speaking. 
It  will  be  instructive  and  useful  to  us  to  look  into  this 
subject  more  minutely. 

1.  This  inattention  to  little  things  will  be  discovered 
in  the  frequent  excitements  of  a  naturally  irritoble 
temper.  That  ardour  of  temperament  which  gives 
the  ability  for  great  achievements,  opens  also  the 
source  of  great  sorrows.  It  is  a  strong  man  armed, 
which  no  power  but  the  Spirit  of  God  can  spoil  and 
bind ;  and  which  often  breaks  loose,  even  from  the 
constraint  of  his  hand.  It  requires  a  much  larger 
measure  of  divine  influence  to  produce  in  a  heart  of 
this  strongly  marked  character,  any  desired  etfect  of 
submission  to  the  will  of  God.  And  there  must  be 
allowed  to  such  an  one,  the  enjoyment  of  comfort  in 
reflection  upon  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  from  a  much 
smaller  amount  of  positive  evidence  than  can  be  as- 
sumed as  sufficient,  where  there  were  fewer  ob- 
stacles to  overcome.  This  excitable  temper,  in  the 
full  sanctification  of  the  soul  by  the  divine  Spirit,  is 
to  be  transformed  into  the  mind  of  a  little  child.  The 
Christian,  to  whose  lot  a  contest  with  such  a  spirit 
has  been  assigned,  must  not  be  satisfied  until  the  lion 
has  been  not  only  chained  within  his  den,  but  actually 
transformed  in  his  natufe,  to  a  lamb.  Inattention  to 
this  development  of  individual  character,  opens  a 
breach  for  probable  final  destruction  and  loss.  Our 
trials  of  temper  are  usually  found  in  small  incidents ; 
chiefly  in  the  little  and  private  concerns  of  domestic 
life.     How  many  do  we  see,  who  can  sustain  with  an 


LITTLE    SINS.  203 

unmurmuring  fortitude,  the  severest  pressure  of  afflic- 
tion and  pain ;  who  can  glorify  God  in  fires  which 
burn  with  a  fearful  strength ;  who  can  lie  long  on  the 
bed  of  suffering,  and  have  many  of  the  dearest  objects 
of  human  affection,  taken  successively  from  them, 
without  complaint;  who  yet  will  allow  themselves 
through  mere  inadvertence,  to  be  extravagantly  ex- 
cited, by  the  impertinence  of  an  inferior,  or  by  the 
worrying  of  a  fly ;  like  the  elephant,  whose  skin  can 
resist  the  force  of  the  musket  ball,  but  is  said  to  be 
goaded  to  madness  by  the  sting  of  the  musquito. 
What  is  the  reason  of  this  singular  difference  in  their 
endurance  of  trials,  except  the  single  fact,  that  they 
gathered  up  all  their  strength  in  watchfulness  against 
the  greater  difficulty,  but  were  heedless  and  unguarded 
on  the  arrival  of  the  less?  Such  inattention,  my 
brethren,  is  the  parent  of  much  sin,  and  of  much  sor- 
row. It  uniformly  opens  the  way  to  backsliding  from 
God.  It  wounds  the  conscience,  until  it  becomes 
seared  and  hardened  through  the  deceitfulness  of  sin. 
It  destroys  the  conscious  influence  of  the  character 
for  good  to  others,  until  sometimes,  under  the  morti- 
fication of  this  loss,  even  the  profession  of  piety  is 
laid  aside.  It  degenerates  into  a  proud  and  peevish 
state  of  mind  and  feeling,  far  too  turbulent  for  a 
dwelling  place  for  the  calm  Spirit  of  eternal  peace. 
If  in  this  point,  I  am  speaking  to  the  conscience  of 
any  of  my  hearers,  I  would  speak  the  language  of 
anxious  warning  and  affectionate  admonition;  lan- 
guage, the  necessity  of  which,  deep  experience  has 
taught.  Esteem  nothing  of  this  kind  a  little  thing. 
There  is  no  "little  one"  opened  as  a  refuge  here.  Do 
not  flatter  yourselves  that  the  life  of  the  soul  can  be 


204  LITTLE    SINS. 

maintained,  while  this  point  is  compromised  and 
covered,  or  while  your  increasing  watchfulness  is  not 
solemnly  directed  against  it. 

2.  This  disregard  of  little  things  will  be  exhibited 
in  the  many  small  and  unnecessary  indulgences, 
which  Christians  too  often  allow  themselves  for 
appetite  or  ease.  How  often  are  such  indulgences 
made  the  substance  of  a  permanent  and  unchangeable 
habit !  We  see  many  who  are  never  positively  in- 
temperate, nor  extravagant  perhaps,  in  their  gratifica- 
tions, who  yet  perceive  no  evil,  in  providing  for  every 
desire  however  foolish,  and  perhaps  hurtful,  its  de- 
manded object.  They  have  no  practical  knowledge 
of  any  system  of  self-denial,  in  following  the  steps  of 
Jesus,  their  professed  Lord.  They  cannot  specify 
any  cross  which  they  have  taken  up  to  honour  him. 
The  marks  of  unqualified  worldliness,  of  undisguised 
intemperance,  may  be  supposed  to  be  far  off",  and  the 
habits  of  life  may  yet  be  so  allied  to  them,  in  prin- 
ciple, and  in  spirit,  and  in  tendency,  that  the  distance 
may  be  much  greater  in  appearance  than  in  reality. 
The  man  who  sets  out  with  the  principle  of  allowing 
himself  every  indulgence  which  is  not  known  to  be 
unlawful,  will  inevitably  find  himself,  before  he  has 
gone  far  upon  his  way,  in  the  depths  of  positive  sin 
My  brethren,  if  your  plan  is  thus  to  live  upon  the 
borders  of  religious  character,  you  will  be  open  to 
the  aggressions  of  foes,  whose  assaults  cannot,  upon 
your  own  principles,  be  resisted.  While  you  are  thus 
frequently  standing  upon,  or  crossing  over  the  line 
which  separates  you  from  known  transgression,  you 
will  be  taken  captive,  and  led  off  in  the  chains  of 
bondage,  when  you  least  suspect  it.     See,  I  beseech 


LITTLE    SINS.  205 

you,  whether  you  will  not  find  many  Zoars  of  this 
kind  in  your  experience.  See,  if  there  be  not,  in 
your  personal  habits,  or  your  family  habits,  such  a 
planning  for  indulgences ;  such  a  disposition  to  make 
important  points,  of  preparation  for  food  or  raiment ; 
such  a  calculation  to  eat,  and  drink,  and  live ;  as  if 
the  glory  of  God  were  in  no  way  concerned  in  what 
you  do.  0,  will  you  not  find  much  here  that  will 
appear  the  openings  of  serious  evil  ?  Much  that  may 
account  for  the  dominion  of  a  worldly  spirit  and  cal- 
culation ?  We  may  err  when  we  fasten  too  much 
importance  upon  little  matters,  in  forming  our  opinions 
of  others ;  but  we  are  not  likely  to  be  too  sensitive, 
or  too  minute,  in  judging  of  ourselves.  Be  content, 
my  friends,  to  follow  Jesus  in  his  own  way,  mortify- 
ing the  whole  body  of  sin,  and  making  no  provision 
for  the  flesh,  to  fulfil  the  lusts  thereof.  For  all  these 
things,  God  will  bring  us  into  judgment.  And  it  is 
well  for  us,  in  every  view  of  character  and  responsi- 
bility, to  use  the  world  as  not  abusing  it ;  to  refuse 
the  temptations,  and  to  avoid  the  chains  of  a  worldly, 
self-indulgent  temper.  Let  us  esteem  no  questionable 
pampering  of  ourselves,  as  "  a  little  one,"  in  which 
our  "  souls  may  live." 

3.  This  inattention  to  smaller  things  will  be  de- 
tected in  the  light  and  unimproving  recreations  and 
amusements,  which  are  often  allowed.  I  do  not  speak 
here  of  the  bold  licentiousness  of  theatrical  exhibi- 
tions; I  cannot  descend  so  low.  The  professing 
Christian  who  gives  a  personal  countenance  to  this 
system  of  contempt  for  God,  and  of  destruction  for 
man,  has  already  sunk  too  far,  to  be  reached  by  the 
language  of  my  present  admonition.  The  assump- 
S 


206  LITTLE    SINS. 

tion  of  the  name  of  Christ  in  such  a  connexion,  is 
only  a  remarkable  instance,  of  the  power  which  the 
human  heart  has  to  delude  itself,  or  of  the  audacity 
with  which  man  attempts  to,  impose  upon  others. 
Passing  over  all  these  glaring  and  public  scenes  of 
dishonour  to  God,  I  refer  now,  to  amusements  which 
come  in  a  more  questionable  shape,  in  the  recreations 
of  private  society.  There  is  a  giddiness  and  levity  in 
conversation  ;  a  trifling,  gossiping,  thoughtless  spirit; 
an  utter  rejection  of  all  seriousness  in  habit  and  cha- 
racter; which,  without  the  card-table,  or  the  mazy 
dance,  or  the  race-course,  or  the  demoralizing  public 
spectacle,  may  degenerate  into  a  confirmed  and  un- 
conquerable habit  of  worldliness,  while  the  victim  of 
the  process,  hardly  recalls  a  single  instance  in  which 
the  actual  limits  of  propriety  in  his  own  view,  were 
overstepped.  The  parent  legalizes  all  this  system  of 
actual  unhinging  of  mind  and  principle,  this  railroad 
plan  of  destruction  for  the  soul,  not,  it  will  be  alleged, 
for  the  gratification  of  personal  desire,  but  to  intro- 
duce a  child  to  scenes,  which  on  the  parent's  part,  it 
is  avowed,  have  been  long  outgrown  and  renounced. 
That  provision  for  levity  of  character,  and  levity  of 
feeling,  is  esteemed  proper,  perhaps  necessary,  for 
the  young,  which,  it  is  still  hoped,  they  will  live 
long  enough  to  be  sorry  for,  and  to  forsake.  O, 
how  shocking  to  every  fine  and  holy  feeling  in  the 
Christian  heart,  is  a  plan  like  this !  Let  me  say  to 
young  professors  of  the  Gospel,  that  these  innocent 
scenes,  as  the  apologists  for  this  world  style  them, 
are  the  very  fields  in  which  the  fowler  spreads  his 
snares  with  the  most  success.  Of  many  a  one,  who 
by  a  life  of  habitual,  guarded  separation   from  this 


LITTLE    SINS.  207 

light  and  scattering  society,  would  have  been  secure, 
may  the  Lord  now  say,  "  Demas  hatli  forsaken  me, 
having  loved  tliis  present  world;"  and  that  too,  even 
before  that  fallen  professor  imagines,  that  there  is  a 
danger  of  such  defection  from  Christ.  Is  this  a  pic- 
ture of  any  who  hear  me  ?  Then  mark  the  com- 
mencement and  the  process  of  your  ruin.  Do  not 
say,  "  is  thy  servant  a  dog,  that  he  should  do  such 
things  ?''  Your  condition  is  most  alarming.  May 
God  give  you  grace  to  perceive  it  in  time.  Vain  will 
be  your  escape  from  Sodom,  if  you  cling  to  the  fancied 
protection  of  Zoar.  While  the  world  says  to  you, 
in  so  many  preparations  for  giddy  enjoyment,  "  come 
and  see ;"  I  beseech  you  stop,  and  reflect  most  deli- 
berately, what  sacrifice  may  be  required  of  you  for 
one  trifling,  thoughtless,  self-indulgent  hour,  speni 
among  the  enemies  of  God,  in  a  conspired  forgetful- 
ness  of  him ! 

4.  You  may  discover  this  inattention  to  smallei 
matters  in  religion,  in  an  increasing  spirit  of  idleness 
and  sloth.  God  has  formed  no  human  being;  to  be 
useless,  or  idle.  He  has  assigned  to  man,  his  proper 
duty  in  every  station,  that  he  may  go  forth  unto  his 
work,  and  to  his  labour,  until  the  evening.  And 
though  there  are  many  who  have  been  raised  by  his 
divine  providence,  above  the  necessity  of  labouring 
for  actual  subsistence ;  there  is  not  one,  who  will  not 
be  called  upon  for  an  account  to  God,  for  the  employ 
ment  of  every  hour  of  his  life.  If  the  precious  and 
important  time  of  the  soul's  probation,  be  consumed 
in  unreasonable  sleep  and  sloth,  and  the  claims  of 
duty  to  others  and  of  improvement  for  ourselves,  be 
disregarded  in  the  listless  indolence  of  a  self-indulgeni 


208  LITTLE    SINS. 

spirit,  shall  not  he  find  it  out  ?  And  did  he  form  this 
curious  tabernacle  for  the  soul,  so  marvellously  ar- 
ranged with  all  its  powers  of  action,  merely  to  be  fed 
a  while,  and  then  to  die  ?  Did  he  constitute  the  mind, 
with  its  mysterious  and  multiplied  faculties,  to  be 
vacant  and  neglected,  and  then  to  pass  into  another, 
and  an  unchanging  world,  for  its  reward  ?  The  hu- 
man character  is  far  too  active,  and  far  too  propense 
to  sin,  to  be  trusted  uncontrolled,  and  unwatched,  to 
the  tendency  and  result  of  its  own  operations.  The 
necessity  for  continual  active  employment,  in  the 
station  of  man,  is  a  blessing,  not  an  evil.  And  it  is 
undoubtedly,  not  one  of  the  least  reasons  of  the  re- 
markable preponderance  of  religious  character,  as  it 
is  beheld  among  men,  always  noticed  among  that  class 
of  persons  whose  circumstances  compel  them  to  be 
industrious,  that  they  have  not  the  time  or  means  to 
waste  themselves  with  indulgence,  or  to  melt  away  in 
sloth.  This  indolent  spirit  is  always  ready  to  open 
the  door  of  the  heart  to  every  intruder,  from  its  empty 
desire  for  company.  The  instances  have  not  been 
few,  in  which  the  man  was  an  useful  and  active  ser- 
vant of  the  Lord,  while  narrow  circumstances  obliged 
him  to  labour,  and  became  bent  to  backsliding  from 
God,  and  useless  in  the  cause  of  Christ  to  men,  when 
in  the  change  of  his  outward  condition,  by  the  accu- 
mulation of  wealth,  the  necessity  for  personal  exer- 
tion and  actual  labour  had  passed  away.  My  brethren, 
how  is  this  case  wdth  you  ?  Does  time  ever  appear 
long  and  heavy?  Is  there  any  hour  which  has  no 
employment?  Is  it  becoming  difficult  to  you  to  be 
actively  engaged?  Is  it  an  effort  to  keep  yourself 
employed  ?     0,  then,  do  not  persuade  yourself  to  call 


LITTLE    SINS.  209 

this  thing  "  a  little  one  !"  It  will  lead  to  great  and 
dangerous  results.  It  will  stifle  and  destroy  all  your 
efforts  to  do  the  will  of  God.  The  life  of  religion 
will  become  by  its  indulgence,  dormant  in  your  heart. 
The  duties  of  religion  will  be  a  yoke  which  you  can- 
not bear.  The  victory  of  sin  over  your  soul  will  be 
the  more  permanent  for  having  been  thus  slowly  ob- 
tained. The  Zoar  of  indolence  will  be  no  refuge. 
It  may  be  made  the  prison  of  bondage.  It  can  never 
be  the  abode  of  peace. 

These  are  some  very  manifest  instances,  which 
show  that  inattention  to  the  guilt  and  danger  of  little 
things  in  the  formation  of  religious  character,  in 
which  so  many  vainly  try  to  shelter  themselves,  and 
in  which  so  many  are  destroyed.  Their  result  will 
be  uniformly  the  same.  It  will  always  be  an  entire 
and  open  desertion  of  the  ways  of  religion  and  peace, 
unless  some  merciful  hand  shall  pluck  the  lingering " 
sinner  from  this  destructive  refuge,  and  place  him 
upon  some  safer  ground.  It  is  always  in  the  abuse 
of  the  things  which  are  really  lawful,  that  we  begin  to 
perish.  The  man  who  pleads  for  a  doubtful  or  sus- 
pected indulgence,  and  says  upon  the  approach  of  the 
temptation,  "  Is  it  not  a  httle  one  ?  and  my  soul  shall 
live,"  is  in  this  concession,  already  beginning  to  yield 
himself  in  captivity  to  the  enemy  of  his  soul.  In  the 
things  which  are  considered  trifling  matters,  is  our 
chief  reason  for  fear.  Great  transgressions  come  to 
the  heart  unaccustomed  to  them,  with  no  attraction. 
Man's  first  downward  step  towards  them,  is  far  off 
from  them.  But  in  religious  character  there  is  nothing 
unimportant.  The  smallest  inlets  for  sin  must  be 
closed.  He  who  hopes  to  be  kept  back  from  the  do- 
s  2  27 


2t^  LITTLE    SINS. 

minion  of  presumptuous  sins,  must  seek  and  resolve 
to  be  cleansed  from  his  secret  faults.  We  are  required 
to  abstain  from  all  appearance  of  evil ;  and  to  give 
all  diligence  to  our  growth  in  grace,  that  our  calling 
and  election  may  be  made  sure.  Let  him  that  thinketh 
he  standeth,  take  heed  lest  he  fall. 

If  you  find  in  yourselves  this  heedless  and  secure 
habit  which  casts  out  fear;  if  you  find  that  your 
watchfulness  is  directed  to  things  which  are  seen  and 
known  by  others,  and  that  it  is  relaxed  in  those  things 
which  are  considered  of  less  moment  and  influence ; 
you  may  be  assured  that  your  condition  is  one  of  ex- 
ceeding danger,  and  that  the  natural  result  of  such  a 
state  of  mind,  is  a  permanent  and  final  backsliding 
from  God.  The  spirit  of  rebellion  against  him,  is 
easily  excited.  Temptations  to  it  enter  at  the  smallest 
breach  ;  and  if  they  enter  with  your  consent,  you  will 
be  exceedingly  in  danger  of  finding  at  the  last,  that 
this  spirit  has  dominion  over  you.  Inconstancy  and 
instability  will  mark  all  your  conduct,  and  become 
settled  principles  in  your  character,  even  if  you  retain 
your  profession  of  being  the  servants  of  the  Lord. 
And  you  will  find  yourselves  deserted  by  him ;  his 
Spirit  departing  from  you ;  and  yourselves  left  finally 
to  perish,  as  the  result  of  your  own  folly  and  sin. 

What  then,  my  brethren,  ought  to  be  the  conclu- 
sion of  such  a  subject,  but  an  earnest  exhortation 
to  you  to  live  near  to  God,  in  the  light  and  power 
of  his  Holy  Spirit  •  and  to  strive  to  walk  circum- 
spectly and  faithfully  in  the  path  of  his  command- 
ments? O,  make  it  your  object  to  be  as  nearly  as 
possible,  holy  as  God  is  holy.  Seek  the  deeper  work 
of  his  Spirit  in  your  hearts,  that  you  may  become 


LITTLE    SINS.  211 

under  his  dominion,  in  all  things  conformed  to  the 
perfect  image  of  Jesus  Christ.     How  much  easier  it 
is  to  please  but  a  single  master ;  to  follow  out  a  single 
line  of  personal  duty;  to  sit  down  in  the  calmness  of 
an  uniform  affection,  at  the  feet  of  Jesus ;  than  it  is  to 
work  out  that  difficult,  dangerous  problem,  how  near 
you  may  live  to  the  world,  and  how  much  you  may 
have  of  the  spirit  of  the  world,  and  yet  not  become 
final  castaways  from  God !     If  you  really  desire  and 
determine  to  be  perfect  in  all  the   will   of  God,  the 
Spirit  of  God  will  hold  you  up  in  your  determination, 
and  enable   you  to    accomplish   it.     If  you   seek  to 
grow  up  in  the  perfect  likeness  of  Christ,  you  will 
find  yourselves  upheld  and  guided  by  a  secret  power, 
which  shall  give  you  the  image  you  desire.     O,  make 
this  then,  your  purpose.     See,  how  circumspect,  how 
holy,  how  pure,  how  thoroughly  conformed  to  the 
character  of  Jesus,  you  can  become,  by  prayer  for 
his  Spirit,  by  recollection  of  his  commands,  by  medi- 
tation upon  his  example,  by  study  of  his  word,  by 
communion  with  his  people.     Avoid  all  these  "  little 
ones,"  that  stand  between  Sodom  and  safety;  and  fly 
to  the  mountain,  that  glorious  mountain  of  salvation 
in  Christ,  which  is  exalted  above  all  the  mountains. 
Walk  thus  in  him,  with  him,  under  him,  by  his  power; 
that  when  he  shall  come  to  ask  an  account  of  your 
stewardship,  you  may  give  it  with  joy;  and  be  made 
partakers  with  him  of  that  inheritance  which  he  hath 
purchased,  and  for  which  you  will  have  thus  become 
prepared. 


XIV, 


THE    VA.LLEY   OF    DECISION. 


Joel  iii.  14. — Multitudes,  multitudes  in  the  valley  of  decision ;  for  the 
day  of  the  Lord  is  near  in  the  valley  of  decision. 

A  SENSE  of  ultimate  personal  responsibility  is  in- 
separable from  the  mind  of  man.  There  is  a  conscious- 
ness within  him,  which  announces  the  existence  of  a 
God  who  judgeth  in  the  earth,  and  warns  him  that 
the  great  object  of  his  life  must  be,  to  prepare  to  meet 
him  in  a  final  account.  The  holy  Scriptures  unite  in 
the  same  solemn  testimony,  enlarge  and  confirm  it 
with  most  av/akcning  and  important  descriptions,  and 
call  upon  men  to  be  ready  for  the  day  of  God's  coming 
to  judge  the  earth. 

In  the  passage  which  I  have  selected  for  my  pre- 
sent text,  there  is  a  striking  exhibition  of  this  final 
judgment  of  man,  the  great  day  of  his  account  with 
God.  The  Lord  calls  upon  the  heathen  to  assemble 
tliemselves  together  before  him,  and  for  his  mighty 
ones  to  come  down  in  attendance  upon  him.  "  Let 
the  heathen  be  wakened  and  come  up  to  the  valley  of 
Jchoshaphat,  for  there   will  I  sit  to  judge   all  the 

212 


THE    VALLEY   OF   DECISION.  213 

heathen  round  about.  Put  ye  in  the  sickle,  for  the 
harvest  is  ripe ;  come,  get  you  down ;  for  the  press  is 
full,  the  fats  overflow ;  for  their  wickedness  is  great. 
Multitudes,  multitudes  in  the  valley  of  decision." 
The  harvest  for  man  is  the  close  of  his  probation  for 
eternity.  And  when  this  harvest  is  ripe,  either  for 
glory,  or  for  ruin,  God  puts  in  his  sickle,  and  by  his 
angels,  reaps  both  wheat  and  tares,  for  their  final  des- 
tination. "  The  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,"  in  which 
this  vast  congregation  of  accountable  beings  is  sup- 
posed to  be  collected,  means,  "  the  valley  of  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Lord."  Here  in  the  valley  of  his  judg- 
ment, in  the  time  and  manner  of  his  own  appoint- 
ment, will  the  Lord  collect  the  beings  whom  he  hath 
formed,  and  proclaim  to  all,  the  final  condition  and 
character  of  each.  All  nations  shall  be  gathered  be- 
fore him.  The  heavens  and  the  earth  shall  be  moved 
at  his  presence.  But  the  Lord  will  be  the  hope  and 
strength  of  his  people. 

In  its  practical  application  to  man,  however,  the 
day  of  final  judgment  makes  no  change  in  his  real 
character.  It  simply  proclaims  that  which  was  be- 
fore the  fact.  It  announces  the  issue  of  human  con- 
duct. It  declares  the  sentence  which  has  been  long 
determined.  It  delivers  over  every  accountable  being 
finally  to  his  own  place.  Man's  real  time  of  proba- 
tion is  in  the  present  life.  Here,  is  the  valley  of  de- 
cision, and  the  only  valley  of  decision  for  eternity. 
As  the  tree  falleth,  so  must  it  lie.  No  man's  ever- 
lasting condition  will  be  rendered  more  sure  in  the 
day  of  judgment  than  it  is  in  the  hour  of  death. 
Whether  he  leaves  the  present  world  as  a  child,  or 
as  an  enemy  to  God,  as  such  he  remains  forever.     He 


214         THE  VALLEY  OF  DECISION. 

that  is  then  holy,  is  holy  still,  and  he  that  is  then  un- 
just, is  eternally  unjust  still. 

I  would  call  your  attention  to  a  view  of  this  valley 
OF  decision,  in  the  humble  hope,  that  God  may  be 
pleased  to  make  our  consideration  of  this  subject,  a 
means  of  profit  to  us  all,  and  of  preparation  for  its 
issue.  In  remarking  upon  the  subject,  I  would  first 
consider, 

I.  What  may  be  understood  as  the  valley  of  deci- 
sion for  man.  The  question  is  answered  generally, 
that  the  whole  life  of  man  upon  the  earth  is  given  to 
him  as  his  time  of  education  for  an  eternal  state  of 
being ;  and  every  question  which  is  connected  with 
his  eternity,  is  to  be  decided  by  him  here  upon  the 
earth.  While  this  day  of  privileges  lasts,  man  must 
accomplish  the  whole  work  of  safety  for  his  soul, 
when  tlie  night  cometh  at  its  close,  no  man  can  work. 
Within  its  limits  every  thing  must  be  done,  which  is 
necessary  to  be  done,  that  he  may  appear  before  God 
in  peace. 

But  while  we  speak  of  questions  to  be  decided 
here,  there  is  actually  but  a  single  question  proposed 
from  God  to  man.  As  a  wandering,  rebellious  crea- 
ture, he  is  invited  and  commanded,  to  come  back  in 
the  spirit  and  act  of  reconciliation  unto  God.  He  is 
called  upon  to  submit  himself  to  the  will  of  his 
Creator,  and  to  find  all  his  comfort  and  enjoyment  in 
his  favour.  In  the  full  provisions  of  the  Gospel,  the 
means  of  entire  and  eternal  union  with  God,  are  of- 
fered to  his  acceptance  and  the  only  question  for  him 
to  decide,  is,  whether  he  will  accept  them.  Will  he 
lay  hold  of  the  hope  which  is  set  before  him,  and  with 
a  new  heart,  and  a  right  spirit,  glorify  him  who  hath 


THE    VALLEY   OF    DECISION.  215 

bought  him  with  a  price  ?  This  is  the  question  pro- 
posed to  man,  in  all  the  messages  of  the  Gospel,  and 
urged  upon  his  consideration,  by  all  the  acts  of  divine 
Providence  in  his  behalf,  and  all  the  operations  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  upon  his  mind  and  heart.  This  prac- 
tical question  he  cannot  leave  undecided.  It  meets 
him  face  to  face,  day  by  day ;  and  it  must  be  met  by 
him,  and  settled  by  him  for  himself,  and  that  for 
eternity. 

This  is  the  great  question  of  human  life,  and  it  is 
generally  determined  by  man,  long  before  the  last 
hours  of  his  life  have  come.  Many  who  are  yet 
living  on  the  earth,  have  settled  this  question  finally 
for  themselves,  and  have,  therefore,  actually  passed 
out  of  the  valley  of  decision,  though  they  have  not 
passed  out  of  the  present  state  of  being.  Some  have 
come  upon  the  Lord's  side ;  have  thankfully  accepted 
the  privileges  of  the  Gospel ;  have  become  converted 
in  their  hearts  unto  God ;  and  they  are  the  Lord's 
forever.  They  are  no  longer  hesitating  whom  they 
shall  serve.  Their  hearts  have  been  fixed,  in  the  de- 
termination to  serve  the  Lord.  They  have  chosen 
that  good  part  which  shall  never  be  taken  away  from 
them.  For  them  every  thing  is  decided  for  eternity. 
He  who  hath  plucked  their  feet  out  of  the  net,  will 
keep  their  feet  from  falling,  and  their  eyes  from  tears, 
and  they  shall  walk  before  him  in  the  land  of  the 
living.  He  will  guide  them  by  his  counsel  and  re- 
ceive them  to  his  glory.  The  final  day  of  the  Lord 
for  them, will  not  alter,  but  announce  their  character. 
It  will  give  them  the  crown  of  righteousness  which 
fadeth  not  away,  which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge 
hath  reserved  for  all  who  love  his  appearing.     And 


216  THE    VALLEY  OF   DECISION. 

happy  in  that  day  will  be  found  the  people  whose  God 
is  the  Lord. 

Others  yet  upon  the  earth  have  also  decided  this 
great  question,  but  in  another  way.  They  have 
chosen  death  rather  than  life.  They  have  finally  re 
fused  the  invitations  of  the  Lord.  They  have  turned 
their  hearts  away  from  him  ;  rejected  all  his  mercies  ; 
and  driven  from  them  the  renewing  influences  of  his 
Holy  Spirit.  From  them  too,  the  Saviour  has  de- 
parted, and  withdrawn  from  them  the  quickening 
power  of  his  grace.  They  are  left  alone.  The  pro- 
vidences of  God  do  not  affect  them.  The  ministers 
and  messages  of  God  do  not  influence  them.  They 
are  barren  and  unfruitful  in  every  thing  which  God 
can  look  upon  with  favour  and  acceptance.  Jesus 
has  called,  and  they  have  refused ;  he  has  stretched 
out  his  hands,  and  they  have  not  regarded  it.  They 
have  distinctly  declared  that  they  will  not  come  unto 
him  for  life.  Some  have  decided  this  great  question 
proposed  to  their  souls,  in  entire  infidelity.  They 
have  denied  even  the  authority  by  which  tliey  are 
called  back  to  exercise  repentance  towards  God. 
Some  have  sunk  down  into  confirmed  worldliness  of 
character,  and  have  thrown  away  all  sensibility  to 
unseen  and  eternal  things.  Some  have  immersed 
themselves  in  unfeeling  vice,  and  have  broken  and 
cast  away  all  the  cords  of  grace  and  purity.  Some 
in  mere  thoughtless  giddiness,  mock  at  all  the  solemn 
messages  of  the  Most  High.  Now  all  these  have,  in 
reality,  passed  out  of  the  valley  of  decision.  There 
is  no  question  before  them  to  be  settled.  Their 
eternity  has  been  fixed,  and  fixed  by  their  own  choice 
and  determination.     Death  will  make  no  change  with 


THE  VALLEY  OF  DECISION.         217 

them  for  the  better.  The  day  of  the  Lord  will  only 
declare  that  which  they  have  previously  determined 
for  themselves.  Their  harvest  then  will  be  from  their 
own  seed.  They  have  sown  to  the  flesh,  and  from 
the  flesh  they  shall  reap  corruption. 

We  cannot,  therefore,  justly  say,  that  all  men  now 
alive, are  in  the  valley  of  decision.  We  must  narrow 
down  our  view  of  it,  to  that  condition  in  the  history 
of  man,  in  which  the  great  question  for  heaven  or 
hell  remains  yet  to  be  decided ;  in  which  men  have 
not  finally  come  upon  the  Lord's  side,  nor  yet  finally 
rejected  him.  The  mind  is  then  called  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  great  demand,  shall  I  prefer  the  re- 
proach and  promises  of  Christ,  or  the  treasures  of  the 
world,  and  the  pleasures  of  sin  ?  Each  time  a  mes- 
sage of  the  Gospel  is  heard,  this  question  is  distinctly 
proposed  again,  and  again  answered  by  man.  We 
may  not  say  of  individual  cases,  that  men  are  not  still 
within  reach  of  a  Saviour's  mercy.  It  is  always  true 
that  wliosoever  cometh  to  him  shall  in  no  wise  be  cast 
out.  But  we  know  that  they  are  within  the  limits  of 
his  offers,  by  whom  this  great  subject  is  still  consider- 
ed, who  are  reflecting  upon  the  wants  and  the  pros- 
pects of  their  souls,  halting  upon  the  edge  of  a  jour- 
ney which  they  are  required  to  undertake,  and  still 
undetermined  between  the  diverting  motives  which 
are  presented  to  them,  in  what  direction  they  shall 
finally  go.  For  them,  conscience  is  awakened,  fear 
is  excited,  consideration  is  exercised.  But  no  action 
has  yet  taken  place.  They  are  still  waiting  upon  the 
edge  of  the  pool,  but  still  only  upon  its  edge.  The 
question  before  them  in  the  circumstances  which  at- 
tend it,  is  momentous.  All  others  are  nothing  in 
T  28 


218  THE    VALLEY   OF    DECISION. 

comparison  with  it.  Every  thing  really  important 
for  time  and  for  eternity  is  involved  in  the  decision 
of  it.  Tliis  time  and  state  of  character  are  peculiar. 
And  these  may  be  considered  by  us,  as  the  real  valley 
of  decision  for  man. 

II.  I  would  remark,  secondly,  that  the  greater  por- 
tion of  those  to  whom  the  offers  of  eternal  life  are 
here  made,  are  in  this  condition  :  "  Multitudes,  multi- 
tude in  the  valley  of  decision."  The  grand  question 
whicu  man  must  decide,  is  proposed  to  all  to  whom 
the  1,  ■''itations  of  the  Gospel  come.  The  way  of  re- 
turn lt<  God  is  opened  to  all,  and  all  are  urged  to 
press  into  't,  and  gain  the  blessing. 

But,  ver}  few  comparatively,  have  determined  the 
question  foi  their  souls  upon  the  Lord's  side.  The 
proportion  of  truly  spiritual,  separated,  holy  Chris- 
tians in  any  community,  is  small  indeed.  Here  and 
there,  like  a  berry  upon  the  topmost  bough,  we  find  a 
single  soul,  who  has,  and  who  gives,  evidence  of  that 
radical,  entire  change  of  heart  which  constitutes  a  true 
follower  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  among  many  who  have 
no  such  precious  faith.  But  few,  we  would  hope, 
have  finally  determined  this  great  question  against 
themselves,  and  said  to  Satan  and  the  world,  "  with 
you  will  we  go."  Whether  any  such  now  listen  to 
me,  I  know  not.  I  would  fain  hope  that  none  of  you, 
my  friends,  have  said  to  the  Redeemer  of  fallen  man, 
"  depart  from  us,  for  we  desire  not  a  knowledge  of  thy 
ways." 

The  residue,  probably  the  great  majority  of  those 
who  listen  to  the  Gospel,  are  still  in  this  valley  of  de- 
cision. A  blessing  and  a  curse  are  yet  before  them. 
Opposing  offers  and  invitations  are  still  presented  to 


THE  VALLEY  OF  DECISION.         219 

them.     None  arc  without  some  convictions  of  their 
wants.     There  are  few  who  do  not  make  resolutions 
of  personal  amendment ;  few  who  do  not  often  desire 
a  better  portion  tlian  this  world  can  give  them.     My 
friends,  the  great  concerns  of  a  world  to  come,  are 
spread  before  you,  and  it  is  for  you  now  to  determine, 
whether  you  shall  be  saved  or  lost  forever.     Now  is 
your  accepted  time,  your  appointed  opportunity  for 
this  determination.     You   would   be  unwilling,  pro- 
bably, to  enter  into  a  covenant  with  your  real  adver- 
sary, that  you  will  never  lay  yourselves  down  as  a 
sacrifice  to  him  who  has  loved  you,  and  purchased 
you  with  his  death.     And  yet  you  are  unwilling,  also, 
to  take  upon  you  the  yoke  of  Christ,  to  follow  him. 
You  are  thus    still   halting,    unstable,    between   two 
opinions.     The  Saviour  waits   to  be  gracious   unto 
you  ;  and  Satan  waits  to  destroy.     But  this  condition 
cannot   be   permanent  ;    this   state    of   mind   cannot 
abide.     You  must  come  to  a  final  choice  in  this  great 
controversy   around   you.     And   however  long  you 
may  try  to  put  the  decision  from  you,  and  however 
earnestly   you  may  shrink   from,  and   endeavour  to 
escape  this  final  decision,  it  cannot  be  long  postponed. 
Some  of  my  undecided  hearer^  are,  undoubtedly, 
much  nearer  this  determination  than  others.     Some 
are  inquiring  the  way  of  life,  and  asking  for  the  gift 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  while  many  have  not  so  much  as 
thought  whether  there  be  any  Holy  Ghost.     Peculiar 
circumstances  will  often  bring  larger  numbers  together 
than   usual,   into   this    condition.     Their   minds  are 
aroused  and  made  to  think,  and  their  consciences  are 
compelled  to  feel,  and  to  acknowledge  their  feeling, 
upon  this  all-important  subject.     They  become  con- 


220         THE  VALLEY  OF  DECISION. 

vinced  of  their  wants,  and  almost  persuaded  to  accept 
the  proffered  remedy.  Their  position  is  then,  in  the 
highest  degree  affecting,  solemn,  and  critical.  Jesus 
pleads  with  them,  his  wounds  and  death.  He  offers 
them  full,  instant,  everlasting  salvation.  The  Holy 
Spirit  urges  them  to  accept  it,  and  strives  with 
them  to  lead  them  to  a  decision  for  Clirist.  Their 
means  and  opportunities  of  mercy  are  numerous.  But 
they  are  transitory.  All  heaven  seems  to  be  waiting 
the  event.  All  hell  seems  to  be  looking  on  too,  for 
the  issue.  Shall  they  cast  away  the  works  of  dark- 
ness, and  in  the  real  conversion  of  their  hearts  to 
God,  go  with  Jesus,  and  become  his  forever  ?  or  shall 
they  refuse  his  voice,  and  join  themselves  finally  with 
those  who  hate  him  ?  Their  minds  dwell  upon  this 
question,  and  consider  it  again  and  again.  It  must  be 
decided  ;  and  it  must  be  decided  by  themselves.  God 
has  not  decided  it  for  them  in  any  manner  by  which  the 
choice  is  not  left  to  them,  though  he  knoweth  the  way 
that  they  take.  The  mercies  and  privileges  of  the 
Gospel  are  freely  offered  to  them,  and  if  they  will, 
they  may  embrace  them,  and  rejoice  in  them  forever. 
If  they  do  not  enjoy  them,  it  is  because  they  reject 
them ;  and  where  then  is  the  just  condemnation,  but 
on  their  own  chosen  guilt?  What  ruin  awaits  them, 
but  that  which  they  voluntarily  pluck  down  upon 
themselves  ? 

The  Holy  Spirit  is  thus  rapidly  leading  you  on  to  a 
point  where  this  issue  must  come.  He  will  not  always 
strive  with  you.  He  will  then  either  have  scaled  you 
unto  the  day  of  redemption,  or  have  withdrawn  his 
power  from  you  forever.  What  condition  can  be 
more  important  than  that  in  which  you  stand  who  are 


THE    VALLEY   OF    DECISION.  221 

now  pressing  forward  to  an  eternal  world,  and  are 
still  undecided  amidst  all  your  privileges,  wliat  you 
shall  select  as  your  portion  and  your  inheritance 
there?  Yet  such  is  the  prohable  condition  of  the 
most  who  listen  to  me.  O,  that  you  may  know,  at 
least,  in  this  your  day,  the  things  which  belong  unto 
your  peace,  for  soon  they  will  be  hidden  from  your  eyes. 

III.  The  text  admonishes  you,  that  this  decision 
must  be  speedily  made.  "  The  day  of  the  Lord  is 
near  in  the  valley  of  decision." 

"The  day  of  the  Lord"  is  the  hour  of  final  deter- 
mination of  the  destiny  of  the  children  of  men.  It 
is  the  day  when  his  purposes  are  completed ;  when 
the  actual  trial  for  man  is  closed ;  and  when  the  cha- 
racter and  condition  of  each  one  are  finally  settled  as 
they  are  to  remain  forever.  According  to  the  charac- 
ter of  man,  it  is  an  hour  of  joy,  or  of  deep  and  dread- 
ful mourning  It  is  the  day  on  which  he  makes  a  final 
separation  between  him  that  serveth  God,  and  him  that 
serveth  him  not ;  the  day  in  which  he  makes  up  his 
jewels,  gathers  his  wheat  into  his  garner,  separates 
the  precious  from  the  vile,  binds  the  tares  in  bundles 
for  the  fire,  and  delivers  over  the  ungodly  unto  eternal 
j)erdition. 

Soon  for  every  man,  this  day  must  certainly  come 
at  the  period  of  death.  The  hours  of  considera- 
tion will  tlius  be  finished,  and  the  actual  enjoyment 
of  the  glories  of  heaven,  or  the  actual  endurance  of 
the  pains  of  hell,  will  close  all  opportunities  to  make 
that  great  selection,  for  which  life  was  prolonged 
amidst  the  privileges  of  the  Gospel.  But  when  men 
are  awakened  to  consider  their  spiritual  interests,  to 
see  and  feel  the  necessity  of  some  salvation,  their  day 


222  THE    VALLEY   OF    DECISION. 

of  decision  is  probably,  much  nearer,  than  the  day  of 
their  death.  An  anxious  and  inquiring  mind  cannot 
long  remain  undecided,  in  regard  to  the  course  to  be 
pursued.  While  men  are  unmoved  and  careless,  they 
may  suppose  themselves  to  be  postponing  the  deter- 
mination which  they  are  required  to  make.  But  vv^hen 
their  attention  is  arrested,  and  their  thouglitfulness  is 
excited,  by  the  infinitely  important  concerns  of  the 
soul,  the  mind  of  man  is  brought  to  a  point,  and  can- 
not remain  hesitating  long.  While  the  v\^ax  is  melted 
the  impression  must  be  made.  And  in  the  case  of 
the  awakened  sinner,  whatever  the  choice  may  be,  it 
is  generally  a  final  one.  He  is  made  now  to  see  the 
facts  in  his  case  as  they  are,  and  while  he  thus  sees 
them,  it  is  impossible  to  postpone  his  decision  con- 
cerning tliem.  It  is  his  privilege  and  his  duty,  imme- 
diately to  embrace  a  Saviour,  and  to  rejoice  in  him. 
The  Lord  Jesus  is  willing,  and  waiting  to  receive  him; 
and  he  is  invited  to  come  unto  him,  ignorant  and 
perishing  as  he  is,  to  obtain  the  mercy  and  the  help 
he  needs.  His  first,  instant  duty  is,  to  accept  the 
promises  of  the  Gospel.  And  whenever  he  shall 
yield  his  will  to  Christ,  and  submit  himself  wholly  to 
the  Saviour's  will  and  power,  he  is  safe.  But  this 
state  of  mere  conviction,  while  he  refuses  to  seek  for 
pardon  in  a  Saviour's  merits,  is  a  state  of  continually 
increasing  guilt.  If  he  continue  to  refuse  an  accept- 
ance of  the  Gospel,  and  a  submission  of  himself  to 
God,  he  remains  more  certainly  a  rebel  than  he  was 
before.  He  now  goes  on  in  his  guilt,  with  his  eyes 
fully  opened  to  his  danger.  And  every  hour  in- 
creases the  hopelessness  of  his  condition,  and  his 
despair  of  ever  attaining  the  life  he  needs. 


THE    VALLEY   OF    DECISION.  223 

My  friends,  you  cannot  remain  long  in  a  state  like 
this.  You  must  decide,  and  you  will  decide,  in  some 
way,  for  the  character  and  prospects  of  your  souls. 
The  day  of  the  Lord  is  near.  It  cannot  be  postponed. 
This  is,  in  a  peculiar  sense,  your  accepted  time,  and 
this  is  your  day  of  salvation.  The  night  is  before  you, 
when  nothing  can  be  done,  and  notliing  can  be  gained  for 
your  souls.  Some  of  you  will  resist  the  Holy  Ghost, 
until  he  will  depart  from  you.  You  will  be  left  in  a 
hardened,  careless  state  of  mind.  Your  consciences 
will  relapse  into  unconcern ;  you  will  sink  into  forget- 
fulness  and  aversion  from  God ;  and  go  down  from 
depth  to  depth,  to  final  loss  and  ruin.  It  will  have 
been  better  for  you,  if  you  had  never  been  awakened, 
if  you  had  never  thought  of  your  souls,  if  you  had 
continued  from  the  beginning,  and  perished  in  an 
originally  careless,  hardened  state.  Now  you  have 
chosen,  in  the  face  of  every  motive,  and  duty,  and  pri- 
vilege, tlie  inheritance  of  sorrow  which  is  laid  up  for 
unbelieving  men.  0,  how  painful  is  the  thought,  that 
this  will  soon,  perhaps,  be  the  case  of  some  who  now 
hear  me !  They  will  go  on  rejecting  the  goodness  of 
God  against  themselves,  until  no  place  will  be  found 
for  repentance,  and  no  room  will  be  left  for  hope.  It 
is  rare  indeed,  after  a  man  has  been  once  solemnly 
aroused  to  think  of  the  things  which  belong  to  his 
peace,  if  he  reject  the  offers  of  the  Gospel,  that  he 
feels  any  willingness  to  have  his  attention  again  called 
to  them.  He  passes  out  of  the  valley  of  decision,  and 
the  Lord  departs  from  him.  God  waits  among  you 
to  be  gracious,  but  he  will  not  be  mocked.  How  im- 
portant then  becomes  your  present  condition  !  While 
you  are  candidates  for  eternity,  encompassed  with  pri- 


224  THE    VALLEY   OF    DECISION. 

vileges,  how  serious  and  influential,  may  be  the  next 
step  you  will  take  in  the  great  concerns  of  your  souls! 
Who  shall  estimate  its  consequences  for  you  ?  Who 
shall  retrieve  its  possible  errors  ? 

For  others,  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  near,  as  the 
commencement  of  everlasting  liberty  and  hope.  They 
will  be  led  to  build  themselves  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  They  will  lay  themselves  down  on  his  merits, 
as  their  chosen  foundation.  They  will  be  safe  in  him 
forever.  They  will  pass  from  a  conviction  that  they 
are  lost  and  need  a  restoration,  to  a  godly  sorrow  for 
sin,  to  a  full  submission  to  God,  to  an  entire  renova- 
tion of  heart;  and  in  this  change  of  heart  and  cha- 
racter, they  will  have  that  repentance  unto  salvation, 
■which  is  not  to  be  repented  of  They  will  be  wel- 
comed to  the  favour  of  God,  and  into  his  abode  of 
everlasting  peace,  and  made  the  objects  of  his  peculiar 
and  unchanging  love.  How  happy  will  be  their  con- 
dition !  How  precious  their  privilege  !  How  joyful 
for  them,  is  the  fact,  that  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  near' 

My  friends,  many  of  you  are  this  day  in  this  nar- 
row valley  of  decision.  It  will  soon  be  passed  by 
you.  But  whither  will  you  pass  from  it?  Will  you 
return  to  impenitent  sin,  and  unchangeable  ruin  ?  Or 
will  you  ascend  from  it  with  Christ,  to  glory  and  to 
God  ?  This  is  the  question,  for  which  I  press  your 
determination.  In  the  presence  of  an  heart-search- 
ing God,  it  must  be  decided  by  yourselves.  Wliat 
multiplied  and  powerful  motives  combine  to  urge  you 
to  make  your  calling  and  election  sure !  To-day, 
while  it  is  called  to-day,  harden  not  your  hearts,  as 
in  past  days  of  provocation ;  but  hear  the  voice,  cm- 
brace  the  promises,  and  obey  the  commands  of  God 
your  Saviour. 


XV. 


THE    CHRISTIAN  S    HINDRANCES. 


Genesis  xxiv.  56. — And  he  said  unto  them.  Hinder  me  not,  seeing  the 
Lord  hath  prospered  my  way. 

The  energy  and  self-devotion  with  which  men 
pursue  the  business  of  the  present  world,  furnish  us 
with  many  illustrations  of  that  total  surrender  of  our- 
selves to  the  service  of  Almighty  God,  which  he  re- 
quires of  us  all.  We  daily  behold  instances  of  men, 
who  in  their  ardent  desire  for  some  distinct,  and  in 
their  estimation,  valuable  object  of  pursuit,  are  will- 
ing to  banish  all  other  purposes  from  their  minds,  and 
appear  to  consider  the  whole  value  of  life,  as  consist- 
ing in  the  opportunity, which  it  presents  for  this  single 
selected  pursuit.  The  man  of  industry,  the  child  of 
pleasure,  the  victim  of  sensuality,  the  aspirant  for  the 
honours  of  the  world,  are  accustomed  to  set  up  their 
individual  plans  as  the  sun  in  their  firmament,  and  to 
consider  the  time  occupied  in  them,  as  the  main  en- 
gagement of  their  life.  They  have  made  an  un- 
equivocal surrender  of  themselves  to  a  peculiar  end. 
And  whatever  attempts  to  interfere  with  their  attain- 

29  225 


226  THE    CHRISTIAN  S   HINDRANCES. 

ment  of  this  end,  they  arrest  and  repel  with  the  ex- 
clamation of  the   servant  of  Abraham,  "hinder  me 

not." 

From  an  observation  of  this  singleness  of  purpose 
among  men,  directed  to  the  acquisition  of  supposed 
advantages  in  the  present  world,  our  Lord  derives 
one  of  the  serious  admonitions  which  he  gives  to  his 
disciples ;  "  the  children  of  this  world  are  wiser  in 
their  generation  than  the  children  of  light."  If  there 
were  no  room  for  this  comparative  reproof,  who  can 
calculate  the  beneficial  results  which  would  flow  for 
the  church  of  Christ?  If  the  same  monopolizing 
spirit  which  is  seen  to  mark  the  atfairs  and  course  of 
those  who  have  laid  up  their  treasure  on  the  earth, 
should  constrain  and  govern  all  the  members  of  Christ, 
elevated  above  all  worldly  engagements,  and  directed 
to  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  to  the  imperishable  glo- 
ries of  an  eternal  state  of  being ;  how  soon  would  the 
church  of  the  Lord  Jesus  arise  and  shine,  and  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  be  seen  rising  upon  her. 

Let  us  announce  some  brilliant  scheme  of  gain,  let 
us  scatter  the  invitations  of  ga3^ety  and  mirth,  let  us  ex- 
hibit the  little  elevations  which  are  bestowed  by  popular 
breath,  and  hovN^  eager  and  pressing  are  the  hearts  of 
men  for  their  attainment !  Nothing  else  appears  in 
their  view  to  be  of  comparative  importance.  "  Give 
me  this,  or  I  die,"  they  are  ready  to  exclaim.  But 
when  we  would  lead  the  affections  of  men  to  glory 
and  to  God,  then  a  lion  is  in  the  way ;  something  else 
must  be  first  attended  to ;  a  more  convenient  season 
will  certainly  arrive ;  at  any  rate,  they  desire  to  be 
excused.  In  this  course  of  effort,  a  thousand  hind- 
rances interfere,  and  very  few  are  found  willing  to  con- 


THE    christian's   HINDRANCES.  227 

tend  with  them  all,  and  to  hate  and  renounce  all  other 
tilings  for  the  sake  of  Christ.  This  cross  to  be  im- 
mediately borne,  is  frequently  an  insuperable  obstacle ; 
and  the  prospect  of  self-denial  is  almost  as  repulsive 
as  the  fear  of  death.  Many  who  hear,  and  apparently 
desire  to  embrace,  the  invitations  of  the  Gospel,  thus 
go  away  from  Christ,  and  walk  no  more  with  him. 
They  cannot  endure  the  difficulties  which  they  meet, 
and  the  words  which  they  hear.  Instead  of  girding 
themselves  for  a  race,  with  a  fixed  determination  so 
to  run  that  they  may  obtain,  they  give  up  their  first 
desires  for  salvation,  and  lie  down  in  despondency,  if 
not  with  contentment,  amidst  the  snares  and  dangers 
of  a  state  of  unpardoned  sin. 

There  are,  doubtless,  many  hindrances,  and  great 
hindrances,  arising  from  a  variety  of  sources,  both 
from  our  own  hearts,  and  from  the  course  of  the  world 
around  us,  in  every  stage  of  our  Christian  course. 
Some  of  these  I  purpose  to  consider.  Whatever  they 
may  be,  the  reason  which  the  servant  of  Abraham 
gives  in  our  text,  for  his  haste  in  the  performance  of 
duty,  and  which  I  design  to  accommodate  to  our  pre- 
sent purpose,  may  be  used  as  an  answer  to  all  at- 
tempts to  lead  us  away  from  God.  "  Hinder  me  not, 
seeing  the  Lord  hath  prospered  my  way."  The  Lord 
hath  prospered  our  way.  He  has  provided  means  for 
our  return  to  him.  He  has  awakened  us  from  entire 
carelessness.  He  has  bestowed  upon  us  thus  far,  all 
the  comfort  and  peace  which  we  have  received,  and 
anabled  us  to  do  all  that  we  have  done  for  him.  These 
past  manifestations  of  his  goodness  to  our  souls,  en- 
courage us  to  strive  for  greater  attainments,  and  excite 
us  to  press  forward  to  a  full  experience  of  his  renew- 


228  THE  christian's  hindrances. 

ing  and  saving  power.  Our  past  prosperity  is  an  un- 
ceasing encouragement  to  future  effort,  and  may  be 
employed  as  an  answer  to  every  hindrance.  Under 
this  view  would  I  adopt  the  expression  of  our  text. 

I.  It  is  the  entreaty  of  an  awakened  sinner  return- 
ing to  the  Lord.  "  Hinder  me  not,  seeing  the  Lord 
hath  prospered  my  way."  An  open  door  is  set  before 
him.  A  new  and  living  way  of  salvation  invites  him. 
But  there  are  many  adversaries.  Just  awakened  to 
know  and  feel  his  own  unworthiness  and  danger,  his 
heart  is  tender  and  fearful.  He  would  gladly  in- 
dulge the  hope  of  safety,  but  a  thousand  apprehen- 
sions break  in  upon  his  peace,  and  fill  him  with  mourn- 
ing and  bitterness.  When  he  looks  upon  the  misery 
to  which  he  has  been  reduced  by  sin,  he  gladly  re- 
solves, "  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  Father,  and  will 
say  unto  him,  Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven 
and  in  thy  sight,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called 
thy  son."  But  when  he  remembers  the  rebellious 
discontent  which  first  led  him  from  his  Father's  house, 
the  ungrateful  and  proud  spirit  with  which  he  has 
wandered  through  the  world,  and  the  hateful  appear- 
ance of  his  whole  character  in  his  Father's  eye,  he  is 
almost  ready  to  despair  of  acceptance  with  him,  and 
to  resolve  never  to  attempt  a  return  which  seems  so 
little  likely  to  be  successful. 

In  this  state  of  hesitation  and  difficulty  for  the  con- 
victed sinner,  a  thousand  hindrances  arc  suggested  to 
his  mind.  His  sins  are  too  many  and  too  great  to  be 
forgiven.  His  name  is  not  in  the  book  of  life.  God 
will  not  accept  his  return.  He  has  no  true  penitence 
for  sin.  He  but  deceives  himself  in  the  idea,  that  he 
is  sorry  for  his  transgressions.     His  tears  are  selfish 


THE    christian's   HINDRANCES.  229 

and  vain.  His  awakened  feelings  are  but  a  delusion. 
He  can  never  hope  to  be  better.  He  can  never  over- 
come the  evil  habits  of  his  life,  or  the  sinful  disposi- 
tions of  his  heart.  He  will  be,  and  must  be  ruined, 
and  it  is  wiser  for  him  to  sit  down,  and  try  to  make 
himself  contented  with  the  prospect.  So  much  dis- 
quietude and  concern  are  altogether  unnecessary. 
His  life  has  never  been  especially  immoral.  There 
are  many  others  far  more  depraved  than  he.  There 
is,  therefore,  no  peculiar  reason  in  his  case,  for  so 
great  excitement  upon  the  subject.  These,  and  many 
like  them,  are  in  different  cases,  specimens  of  the 
method  in  which  the  tempter  argues.  The  answer 
of  the  awakened  soul  may  be  the  same  to  all, 
"  hinder  me  not,  seeing  the  Lord  hath  prospered 
my  way."  "Salvation  is  freely  offered,  and  I  will  em- 
brace it.  There  is  a  wrath  to  come,  and  I  will  hasten 
my  escape  from  the  windy  storm  and  tempest.  Jesus 
the  Saviour,  declares  himself  ready  to  receive  me,  and 
nothing  shall  separate  me  from  his  love.  My  mind 
has  been  graciously  awakened  by  him,  to  seek  for  the 
things  which  belong  unto  my  peace,  and  I  will  not 
suffer  it  to  sink  again  into  lethargy  and  spiritual  death. 
I  have  had  a  full  experience  of  the  condition  of  an 
unpardoned  sinner.  I  will  not  again  willingly  yield 
myself  to  its  bondage.  0,  that  I  had  the  wings  of  a 
dove,  then  w^ould  I  flee  away  and  be  at  rest." 

The  worldly  and  careless  around  him  scoff  at  his 
fears,  and  deride  his  apprehensions.  They  feel  not 
the  burden  of  guilt.  They  know  not  the  terrors  of 
an  awakened  conscience,  and  they  can  mock  when 
fear  cometh.  They  say  he  is  insane,  or  foolislily  and 
unnecessarily  excited.  There  is  no  reason  in  his 
U 


230  THE  christian's  hindrances. 

views  of  his  own  condition.  It  is  enthusiasm  and 
cowardice.  They  would  lead  him  back  again  to  the 
exhilarating  amusements  of  life.  They  would  persuade 
him  to  brush  off  in  the  recreations  of  society,  the 
gloom  which  hangs  upon  his  spirits.  They  would 
urge  him  to  be  himself  again,  and  not  to  yield  to 
these  unmanly  terrors  and  apprehensions.  "Hinder 
me  not,"  the  persecuted  penitent  replies.  "I  have  seen 
enough  of  worldly  cheerfulness  and  mirth.  I  have 
seen  that  the  end  of  that  laughter  is  bitterness.  The 
sorrows  of  a  sinner's  death-bed  I  will  not  try.  The 
portion  of  the  worldly  shall  not  be  mine.  The  just 
indignation  of  a  holy  God  I  will  not  provoke.  He 
offers  me  forgiveness,  and  I  will  embrace  it.  He 
promises  life,  and  I  will  not  refuse  it.  He  has  pros- 
pered my  way  and  drawn  my  heart  to  him,  and  I  will 
run  after  him.  I  will  seek  a  treasure  in  heaven,  and 
where  my  treasure  is,  there  shall  my  heart  be  also." 

Many  such  hindrances  the  awakened  sinner  meets, 
before  he  can  shake  off  the  arts  of  Satan,  or  the 
scoffs  of  the  worldly.  The  accumulation  of  his  diffi- 
culties will  sometimes  almost  drive  him  to  despair. 
But  it  is  a  race  in  which  he  cannot  rest.  He  has  set 
up  his  standard  towards  Sion,  and  he  must  press  on 
in  the  warfare,  till  he  gain  the  victory.  He  knows 
that  there  is  a  fountain  opened  for  sin  and  for  unclean- 
ness,  and  he  will  not  rest  until  he  has  there  washed 
his  sins  away.  This  is  the  seed-time  for  his  soul; 
and  a  season  so  valuable,  so  full  of  hope  and  advan- 
tage, shall  not  be  allowed  to  pass  without  an  adequate 
improvement.  His  mind  was  never  before  so  excited 
by  the  revelations  of  an  eternal  world.  The  hopes 
of  the  Gospel  never  before  seemed  to  be  the  things 


THE    christian's    HINDRANCES.  231 

which  belonged  to  his  peace.  A  Saviour's  invitations 
never  exhibited  the  worth  which  they  now  display. 
He  cannot  doubt  that  these  new  feelings  are  evidences 
that  the  Lord  hath  prospered,  and  will  prosper  his 
way.  If  he  now  seek  him  with  sincerity,  he  shall 
find  him.  Should  he  now  forsake  him,  he  may  well 
fear  that  he  will  cast  him  off  forever. 

If  any  of  my  hearers  are  thus  described,  I  pray 
them  to  make  a  personal  application  of  this  important 
subject.  Let  nothing  hinder  you  from  finally  obey- 
ing the  truth.  Cherish,  cultivate,  pray  over  the  feel- 
ings of  contrition  which  God  has  excited  in  your 
hearts.  Vain  and  foolish  men  may  scoff  at  your 
plans.  But  a  future  day  will  proclaim  the  wisdom  of 
your  choice,  and  the  ruinous  folly  of  theirs.  The 
Lord  has  set  before  you  a  blessing  which  it  is  beyond 
the  power  of  man  to  remove.  If  you  deliberately 
and  solemnly  resolve  upon  your  faithful  return  to  him, 
he  will  hold  you,  and  sustain  you,  and  make  you  a 
conqueror,  through  him  that  hath  loved  you,  and  given 
himself  for  you.  Press  forward  then,  in  a  simple 
desire  and  determination  to  gain  a  final  and  everlast- 
ing interest  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  you  shall  not  be 
disappointed  in  your  hope,  nor  come  short  of  the  end 
you  seek. 

II.  The  words  of  our  text  may  be  the  prayer  of 
the  new  convert  to  Christ — the  Christian  who  has 
just  experienced  the  new  creating  grace  of  God; 
"  hinder  me  not,  seeing  the  Lord  hath  prospered  my 
way."  Interesting  beyond  the  power  of  description, 
is  the  state  of  that  person  who  is  called  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, "  a  babe  in  Christ;"  who  has  just  been  brought 
from  darkness  into  light,  and  for  the  first  time  in  his 


232  THE  christian's  hindrances. 

life,  has  tasted  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come.  If 
we  can  imagine  the  emotions  which  swelled  the  heart 
of  the  first  man,  when  in  the  full  power  of  intelli- 
gence, and  with  quick  and  strong  perceptions,  he 
opened  his  eyes  upon  the  fair  scene  in  which  he  had 
been  placed,  and  saw  every  object  around  him,  ripe 
with  beauty,  and  glowing  with  a  thousand  attractions; 
we  may  have  an  interesting  illustration  of  the  new 
scenes,  and  unknown  aspects  of  spiritual  gifts  and 
treasures,  which  press  before  the  mind  of  one  who 
has  just  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious.  The  Scrip- 
tures are  found  to  have  contents  which  he  never  saw 
before.  The  character  of  God  appears  to  him  full  of 
glory,  and  shining  in  love.  The  great  salvation  which 
he  has  offered,  seems  worthy  of  all  acceptation.  Jesus 
appears  infinitely  precious  and  desirable.  And  he 
wonders  that  all  these  glories  were  never  seen  before. 
His  whole  heart  is  arrested  and  occupied  with  the 
objects  and  excitements  of  this  first  love. 

But  there  are  many  hindrances  surrounding  this  in- 
fantile state  of  grace.  Though  at  first,  the  young  be- 
liever fondly  imagines  that  he  has  escaped  beyond  the 
reach  of  his  enemies,  that  they  have  sunk  as  lead  into 
the  waters,  to  rise  no  more ;  he  soon  hears  behind  him, 
that  cry  of  hell,  "persecute  him,  and  take  him,  for  there 
is  none  to  deliver  him."  The  enemy  presses  him  with 
innumerable  difficulties,  because  he  fears  that  his  hour 
is  short.  He  collects  all  the  varied  instruments  of 
temptation  which  are  furnished  by  a  world  lying  in 
wickedness,  to  cast  down  one  whom  the  Lord  hath 
chosen.  Every  child  of  disobedience,  every  uncon- 
verted, careless  man,  is  ready  to  cast  a  snare  in  his 
way.     On  one  side,  the  syrens  of  worldly  pleasure 


THE    christian's   HINDRANCES.  233 

arc  chanting  their  death-songs  in  the  abodes  of  the 
thoughtless  and  giddy.  On  the  other,  all  the  opposi- 
tion of  malice,  the  open  derisions  even  of  worldly 
relatives  and  friends,  like  the  bowlings  of  evening 
wolves,  unite  to  drive  him  back  from  his  hope  of 
peace.  At  one  time  he  meets  a  sneer  from  some 
former  companion  in  folly,  at  another,  a  false  and  un- 
kind construction  of  the  motives,  by  which  he  is 
governed  in  his  new  determinations.  Tlie  merely 
nominal  Christian,  the  cold  and  carnally  minded 
professor,  hates  him,  as  one  who  assumes  a  higher 
standard  of  religious  character  than  he  is  pleased 
with.  And  all  unite  in  the  gratification  which  is  felt 
and  manifested,  if  in  any  thing  he  seem  to  come  short, 
or  if  any  accidental  failure  in  duty  shows  him  to  be 
but  partially  subdued  by  grace.  These  various  out- 
ward trials  are  severe.  He  looks  round  upon  them 
all  with  sorrow ;  but  he  has  no  desire  to  yield  to  their 
proposal  of  desertion  from  the  cause  in  which  he  has 
engaged.  "  Hinder  me  not,"  he  cries  to  all.  "Enjoy 
your  follies  if  you  can,  but  do  not  hate  or  persecute 
me,  because  I  will  rather  love  him  who  has  redeemed 
me  from  them.  I  will  not  turn  back.  My  heart  and 
my  hopes  are  fixed  upon  things  which  are  above.  I 
was  a  poor  lost  creature  once,  and  Jesus  loved  me 
and  called  me  by  his  grace.  He  has  made  me  his 
servant,  and  I  will  not  forsake  him." 

His  own  heart  too,  begins  to  show  him  more  of  his 
native  character,  and  a  greater  portion  of  its  extent 
of  guilt.  A  fear  of  difficulties,  an  unholy  desire  for 
personal  ease  and  indulgence,  rise  up  within  him,  and 
give  him  frequent  pain.  Then  he  imagines  that  he 
could   bear   any  outward   trials ;    but  these   wicked 

u  2  30 


234  THE  christian's  hindrances. 

tempers  and  appetites,  these  unreasonable  doubts  and 
fears,  ascending  like  the  smoke  from  the  bottomless 
pit,  and  clouding  the  comforts,  and  obscuring  the 
peace  of  his  mind,  and  shutting  out  his  enjoyment  of 
the  reconciled  countenance  of  God,  form  a  new  trial 
for  him,  which  seems  far  more  difficult  to  bear,  than 
any  thing  which  is  outward.  How  often  as  he  kneels 
before  the  throne  of  God  in  prayer,  will  his  burdened 
spirit  cry  out  in  agony,  "  hinder  me  not,  ensnare 
me  not  for  my  ruin ;  give  me  liberty  of  access  to  the 
throne  of  my  Redeemer.  O,  thou  Captain  of  my 
salvation,  suffer  not  mine  enemies  to  triumph  over 
me."  Then,  how  encouraging  is  the  recollection, 
that  the  Lord  hath  prospered  his  way;  that  Jesus 
sought  him  in  mercy  when  he  was  dead  in  sins,  re- 
vealed to  him  the  glorious  sufficiency  of  his  cross, 
and  came  to  dwell  in  his  heart  by  faith,  as  his  hope 
of  glory!  The  remembrance  of  what  the  Lord  hath 
already  done  for  him,  raises  up  his  heart  again  with 
confidence  and  rejoicing.  The  blessings  which  have 
already  attended  him,  inspire  him  with  new  ardour,  and 
render  yet  more  eager  and  determined  his  desires  and 
exertions  for  victory  and  rest.  He  is  strengthened 
even  by  the  conflict,  and  grows  in  an  humble  and 
active  dependence  upon  the  Lord  his  Righteousness, 
as  his  selfish  trust  is  overthrown,  and  his  own  weak- 
ness is  displayed  to  his  view. 

HL  But  hindrances  do  not  disappear,  even  when 
men  become  old  in  grace.  Our  text  may,  therefore, 
be  the  petition  of  the  Christian  who  is  established  in 
the  faith,  "  hinder  me  not,  seeing  the  Lord  hath  pros- 
pered my  way."  Through  the  whole  period  of  a 
mortal  life,  he  not  only  dwells  in  the  land  of  enemies. 


THE    christian's   HINDRANCES.  235 

but  drags  about  with  himself,  a  weight  which  is  pain- 
fully retarding.  The  negligence,  and  sometimes  the 
contempt,  which  he  must  consent  to  endure  from  the 
careless  and  ungodly,  the  opposition  to  which  he  must 
be  frequently  exposed,  even  from  those  of  his  own 
household,  the  evident  contradiction  to  all  his  prin- 
ciples of  conduct,  by  which  the  characters  of  others 
around  him  are  marked,  and  the  difficulties  with  which 
he  contends,  in  his  efforts  to  establish  the  Redeemer's 
truth,  are  often  painful  and  oppressive  hindrances. 
He  may  have  passed  beyond  the  attractions  of  sinful 
indulgences,  and  have  risen  altogether  above  the  fear 
of  man.  But  in  his  intercourse  with  other  men,  he 
experiences  new  difficulties  which  are  by  no  means 
of  less  importance.  He  has  deeper  views  of  the 
fallen  character  and  miserable  condition  of  unre- 
generate  men.  He  has  more  ardent  desires  for  their 
salvation.  He  mourns  with  deeper  feeling  for  the 
wickedness  which  overspreads  the  earth.  As  he 
looks  around  among  men,  truth  seems  to  have  perish- 
ed, and  righteousness  to  be  clean  gone  forever.  His 
heart  sinks  within  him,  at  a  view  of  the  dangers  and 
destruction  which  ungodly  men  bring  upon  them- 
selves. So  limited  are  the  effects  which  the  Gospel 
appears  to  have  produced,  so  many  and  great  are  the 
inconsistencies  with  its  holy  principles,  which  he  sees 
in  many  of  its  professors,  such  is  the  hardness  of 
heart  with  which  its  sacred  truths  are  repelled  by  the 
majority  of  men,  even  among  some  who  are  most  dear 
to  himself,  that  he  finds  in  all  these  things  a  severe 
trial  and  temptation  to  his  mind.  Often,  as  he  seeks 
to  do  good  to  men,  these  difficulties  crowd  together 
before  him      Often,  as  he  seeks   an   access  to   the 


S36  THE  christian's  hindrances. 

throne  of  God,  they  overwhehii  all  his  efforts  to  pray. 
Excrthig  himself  to  rise  above  them,  he  cries,  "hinder 
me  not;"  "draw  me  not  back  from  him  whom  my  soul 
loveth  ;  destroy  not  my  efforts  to  labour  for  him ;  for, 
though  all  others  forsake  him,  yet  will  not  I." 

Besides  these  outward  hindrances,  he  has  also  pe- 
culiar temptations  within  his  own  heart.  There 
arises  often  around  him,  a  cloud  of  darkness,  which 
hides  all  his  evidences  of  grace,  and  conceals  the 
blessed  witness  which  God  has  given  him  within 
himself.  Momentary  feelings  of  unbelief  intrude 
themselves  into  his  breast.  Occasional  coldness  and 
torpidity  spreads  itself  through  the  members  of  his 
spiritual  man,  threatening  permanent  paralysis  and 
death.  He  obtains  larger  conceptions  of  the  depra- 
vity of  his  own  heart ;  and  his  soul  often  sickens  over 
the  views  whicli  arc  presented  to  him,  as  the  Spirit 
of  God  carries  him  still  farther  into  its  recesses,  and 
exposes  to  his  observation  greater  abominations  than 
he  has  seen  before.  Humbled  and  cast  down  with  a 
consciousness  of  his  own  unworthiness  to  appear  be- 
fore God,  he  can  hardly  look  up  to  the  pure  and  holy 
character  of  him  who  inhabiteth  eternity,  without  a 
feeling  of  despair.  So  ungrateful,  so  wandering,  so 
unnecessarily  sinful,  has  been  the  whole  conduct  of 
his  life,  that  he  deeply  realizes  the  shame  and  confu- 
sion of  face  which  belong  to  him,  and  his  unworthi- 
ness to  be  called  a  child  of  God.  Defects  of  cha- 
racter which  used  to  be  overlooked,  and  to  give  him 
no  pain,  now  fill  his  mind  with  distress.  He  looks 
upon  himself  with  more  and  more  aversion,  and  with 
a  deeper  consciousness  of  his  guilt.  He  feels  more 
conscious  also,  that  God  must  abhor  him,  and  cannot 


THE    christian's    HINDRANCES.  237 

behold  him  but  with  displeasure ;  except  as  he  is  seen 
in  the  righteousness  of  God  liis  Saviour.  Such  feel- 
ings press  upon  him  as  a  heavy  burden ;  often  crush 
all  his  attempts  to  pray  ;  and  compel  him  to  cry  out 
in  the  agony  of  a  broken  spirit,  "  wretched  man  that 
I  am,  who  shall  deliver  mc  from  the  body  of  this 
death?"  Then  does  he  exclaim  in  the  language  of 
our  text,  "  hinder  me  not,  for  the  Lord  hath  prospered 
my  way."  "  Rejoice  not  against  me,  O  mine  enemy, 
though  I  fall,  yet  shall  I  rise  again ;  and  though  I  sit 
in  darkness,  tlie  Lord  shall  be  a  light  unto  me.  Sin 
has  been  pardoned ;  God  has  received,  and  is  able  to 
keep  me.  I  have  entered  into  a  covenant  with  him, 
from  wliich  I  will  never  shrink,  to  walk  before  him, 
and  to  be  his  forever.  And  though  I  be  not  so  with 
God,  as  I  much  desire  to  be,  yet  hath  he  made  with 
me  an  everlasting  covenant,  in  all  things  well  ordered 
and  sure,  which  is  all  my  salvation,  and  all  my  desire." 
IV.  Lastly,  I  may  consider  this  as  the  demand  of 
the  faithful  minister  of  the  Gospel.  "Hinder  me  not, 
seeing  the  Lord  hath  prospered  my  way."  The  evi- 
dence that  God  has  prospered  his  way,  that  through 
his  labours,  the  Lord  has  added  many  souls  unto  his 
church  of  such  as  shall  be  saved,  furnishes  a  comfort 
beyond  expression,  to  the  ftiithful  minister,  the  man 
who  watches  for  souls,  as  one  that  must  give  an  ac- 
count. This  joy  would  be  vastly  increased,  were 
there  none  disposed  to  hinder  his  way,  and  to  retard 
the  progress  of  the  word  of  God.  But  the  opposing 
passions  and  habits  of  sinful  men,  the  long-indulged 
unbelief  which  has  taken  possession  of  their  minds, 
the  cold  and  lifeless  system  of  religion  which  has 
been  adopted  by  many  professors  of  the  Gospel,  the 


238  THE  christian's  hindrances. 

indolence  of  multitudes  who  are  not  willing  to  count 
all  but  loss  for  Christ's  sake,  are  important  hindrances 
in  the  way  of  his  success.  If  the  shepherd  be  smit- 
ten, the  sheep  will  be  easily  scattered  abroad.  What- 
ever, therefore,  the  adversary  can  do  to  hinder  his 
usefulness,  and  to  counteract  his  exertions,  will  un- 
doubtedly be  called  into  requisition.  A  thousand 
worldly  inducements  are  presented  to  draw  him  back. 
A  thousand  discouragements  in  the  character  and  ex- 
amples of  professed  fellow-labourers  are  thrown  in 
his  way.  If  a  deep  solicitude  for  the  souls  of  men 
lead  him  to  exhort,  admonish,  and  entreat,  with  all 
long-suffering  and  doctrine,  a  strong  repugnance  is 
often  excited  against  his  preaching  of  the  truth.  If 
any  are  awakened  under  the  word  from  his  mouth, by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  an  opposing  influence  is  imme- 
diately brought  into  operation.  Some  enemy  will 
scoff,  or  some  false  friend  will  lead  away  those  whom 
God  liath  thus  far  blessed,  from  an  influence  so  ex- 
citing. Trials  from  the  world  abroad,  and  trials  from 
the  professing  church  around  him,  continually  beset 
his  path.  And  what  can  sustain  the  minister  of  Christ 
m  such  a  contest,  save  the  prospering  power  of  God, 
and  the  affectionate  co-operation  and  prayers  of  those 
surrounding  friends  in  Christ,  whose  hearts  the  Lord 
hath  opened  to  receive  the  truth?  His  solemn  de- 
mand upon  every  opposer  of  the  Gospel,  is,  "  hinder 
me  not,  seeing  the  Lord  hath  prospered  my  way." 
"  I  have  a  momentous  undertaking  committed  to  me 
The  souls  of  men  are  perishing  around  me.  Sinners 
must  be  rescued  from  eternal  ruin.  Multitudes  are 
desiring  salvation,  and  must  be  guided  to  the  holy  and 
immaculate  Lamb   of  God.     Wolves   are  ready  to 


THE    christian's    HINDRANCES.  239 

break  in  upon  the  fold,  and  the  flock  of  the  Lord 
must  be  protected  and  sustained.  God  has  set  me 
forth  for  the  defence  of  his  truth,  and  wo  is  unto  me, 
if  I  preach  not  the  Gospel." 

This  is  my  present  petition  to  every  sinful  heart 
before  me.  Hinder  not  the  operation  of  the  truth  of 
God.  Let  the  Holy  -Spirit  produce  his  perfect  work 
of  mercy  in  your  hearts,  showing  your  unworthiness, 
and  displaying  to  you  the  new  and  glorious  way  of 
life  eternal,  which  is  laid  open  to  you  in  the  Gospel. 
Make  no  etforts  to  countenance  your  native  alienation 
from  God.  Nothing  can  effectually  hinder  your  con- 
version unto  God,  but  the  obstacles  which  yourselves 
interpose.  If  you  are  ready  to  yield  to  his  will,  he 
will  overturn  within  you  every  sinful  feeling,  and 
bring  your  whole  soul  into  captivity  to  the  obedience 
of  Christ.  Upon  yourselves  God  has  made  it  to  de- 
pend, whether  our  way  shall  be  prospered  among  you. 
O,  may  he  mercifully  lead  you  to  give  his  word  free 
course,  that  it  may  be  glorified  here,  in  persuading 
you  all  to  seek  the  salvation  of  God. 


XVI. 


DIFFICULTIES   OF    OLD   AGE. 


Jeremiah  vi.  4. — TVo  unto  us !  for  the  day  gneth  away,  for  the  shadows 

of  the  evening  are  stretched  out. 

The  subject  which  from  this  text  I  design  to  com- 
mend to  your  notice,  is  an  old  age  without  piety.  It 
is  truly  a  painful  subject.  But  it  is  one  to  which 
faithfulness  in  duty  requires  us  to  call  the  serious 
attention  of  procrastinating  man.  In  the  remarks 
which  I  shall  have  occasion  to  make  upon  this  subject, 
so  far  as  they  are  addressed  to  those  who  have  not 
yet  attained  this  late  period  of  life,  it  will  be  my  duty 
to  employ  the  most  solemn  admonition  and  warning. 
In  regard  to  those  among  my  hearers,  who  are  already 
aged,  or  who  are  verging  upon  it  in  the  declining  years 
of  manhood,  it  becomes  me  to  use  the  utmost  tender- 
ness of  manner,  without  yielding  at  all  the  solemnity 
of  warning,  or  the  ardour  of  persuasion. 

The  command  of  St.  Paul  to  Timothy  was,  "  re- 
buke not  an  elder,  but  entreat  him  as  a  father,  and  the 
elder  women  as  mothers."  The  same  spirit  of  com- 
passionate respect,  the  law  of  God  has  also  enjoined, 

240 


DIFFICULTIES    OF    OLD    AGE.  241 

in  directing  our  deportment  towards  the  aged.  "  The 
nakedness  of  thy  father,  and  the  nakedness  of  thy 
mother,  thou  shalt  not  uncover."  "Thou  shalt  rise  up 
before  the  hoary  head,  and  honour  the  face  of  the  old 
man,  and  fear  thy  God;  I  am  the  Lord."  In  the  spirit 
of  these  precepts,  would  I  govern  my  present  remarks. 
It  is  my  desire,  in  the  meekness  of  wisdom  which  the 
Gospel  requires,  to  show  the  inevitable  danger  and 
sorrow  which  they  must  entail  upon  themselves,  who 
come  to  the  winter  days  of  man,  unpardoned,  un- 
clothed, and  without  hope ;  and  in  opposition  to  this, 
the  comfort  and  peace  which  he  will  enjoy,  whose 
hoary  head  is  found  in  the  way  of  righteousness. 

It  may  be  that  some  who  hear  me,  will  feel  con- 
strained to  adopt  the  mournful  exclamation  of  the  text 
in  regard  to  themselves.  Their  time  for  labour  is 
drawing  to  its  close,  and  in  the  deepening  shadows  of 
the  evening,  no  light  is  seen  to  guide  and  cheer  them 
through  the  approaching  darkness.  If  I  address  any 
who  have  lived  for  many  years  in  the  midst  of  divine 
mercies,  and  of  the  abundant  privileges  of  divine 
grace,  and  are  conscious  that  they  are  yet  unreconciled 
to  God,  I  would  not  utter  to  them  a  single  word  of 
reproach-.  I  would  entreat  them  as  fathers  and 
mothers,  to  give  glory  to  the  Lord  their  God,  before 
he  cause  darkness,  and  their  feet  stumble  upon  the 
dark  mountains,  and  while  they  look  for  light,  he  turn 
it  into  the  shadow  of  death,  and  make  it  gross  dark- 
ness. If  they  begin  to  see  and  to  feel,  the  desolate 
condition  of  an  old  age  without  the  presence  of  a 
reconciled  God ;  if  they  find  themselves  fast  hasten- 
ing to  an  eternal  world,  without  the  certain  hope  and 

comfort  which  the  Gospel  gives;   I  would  beseech 
X  31 


24)2  DIFFICULTIES    OF    OLD    AGE. 

them  to  devote  with  just  so  much  the  greater  earnest- 
ness, their  few  remaining  days  to  the  vast  concerns 
of  their  approaching  judgment,  and  their  endless 
being. 

None  of  you  can  think  the  present  subject  an  inap- 
propriate one,  who  have  observed  how  many  of  the 
most  respected  portion  of  our  community,  in  an  ad 
vanced  period  of  life,  have  yet  made  no  open  profes 
sion  of  their  attachment  to  the  Saviour,  but  still 
habitually  turn  away  from  the  table  of  the  Lord,  as 
if  they  had  no  need  of  the  provisions  of  divine  grace. 
To  such  would  I  seriously  and  affectionately  address 
the  considerations  arising  from  our  present  text.  I 
desire  them  to  receive  the  word  of  exhortation  to 
which  they  listen,  while  we  speak  of  the  difficulties 
and  sorrows  of  old  age  without  piety,  the  trials  and 
cares  of  the  aged  sinner,  who  has  found  no  personal 
interest  for  himself  in  the  merits  of  a  Saviour,  and 
in  the  abiding  comforts  of  his  love. 

The    DIFFICULTIES    OF    THE    AGED    SINNER,    is    the 

subject  of  our  present  discourse.  "  Wo  unto  us ! 
for  the  day  goeth  away,  and  the  shadows  of  the  even- 
ing are  stretched  out." 

I.  "  The  day  goeth  away ;"  this  presents  the  first 
difficulty  to  be  noticed.  That  period  of  life  during 
which  the  Saviour  grants  to  men  the  privileges  of  his 
Gospel,  is  known  in  the  Scriptures  under  this  desig- 
nation. It  is  a  day — -the  day  of  salvation.  It  is  a 
day  in  which  he  waits  for  the  sinner's  repentance,  and 
is  especially  ready  to  aid  and  to  bless  his  effiDrts  to 
return  to  him;  a  day  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  attends 
the  preaching  of  the  word,  and  makes  it  effectual  in 
the  hearts  of  those  who  believe.     The  great  object 


•  DIFFICULTIES    OF    OLD   AGE.  243 

to  be  attained  by  man  during  the  continuance  of  this 
day,  is  a  reconciliation  to  God,  and  the  consequent 
enjoyment  of  his  favour  and  love.  They  who  seek 
him  early  in  this  day,  have  a  promise  that  they  shall 
find  him.  Then,  the  way  of  return  to  him  is  open 
and  easily  found,  and  is  filled  with  assurance  and  en- 
couragement to  those  who  enter  upon  it. 

But  in  advanced  age,  this  reconciliation  to  God 
is  rendered  embarrassing  and  painful  by  this  first 
difficulty,  "  the  day  goeth  away."  The  appointed 
period  of  grace  is  coming  rapidly  to  its  conclusion. 
The  aged  sinner  looks  back  upon  a  long  duration  of 
mercy  which  has  passed  by  him  unimproved.  Every 
privilege  of  the  Gospel  has  brought  with  it  an  indivi- 
dual responsibility.  None  of  its  advantages  can  have 
been  enjoyed  without  the  attendant  obligation  to 
render  an  account.  And  O,  how  solemn,  how  accu- 
mulated, is  the  record  which  must  stand  against  that 
man  who  has  for  twenty,  perhaps,  for  thirty  years  or 
more,  received  from  God  the  ample  provisions  of  the 
Gospel,  and  yet  derived  no  benefit  from  them  for  his 
own  soul !  The  heathen,  who  in  his  old  age,  for  the 
first  time  listens  to  the  invitations  and  promises  of  the 
Gospel,  has  in  them  but  the  commencement  of  this 
day  of  grace,  and  is  regarded  under  the  same  aspect 
as  a  child  in  a  Christian  land,  with  similar  opportuni- 
ties of  attaining  religious  knowledge.  But  the  aged 
man  in  a  land  of  Christian  light,  has  had  from  the  be- 
ginning of  his  life,  the  privileges  which  are  first  offered 
to  the  idolator  in  his  latter  days.  And  how  respon- 
sible and  hazardous  is  such  a  condition  !  Two  thou- 
sand solemn  public  calls  of  the  Gospel  are  to  be  ac- 
counted for  by  some  of  my  hearers,  besides  the  vast 


244  DIFFICULTIES    OF    OLD    AGE.  • 

multitude  of  private  opportunities  of  knowledge, 
which  have  produced  no  beneficial  influence  upon 
their  character  or  their  prospects.  How  alarming  is 
the  danger  of  being  thrust  down  to  hell  under  this 
load  of  wasted  privileges  and  blessings  from  heaven ! 
How  serious  is  the  difficulty  which  this  neglected 
period  of  mercy  interposes  to  a  spiritual  return  to 
God! 

"  The  day  goeth  away."  It  has  been  enjoyed  in 
the  fulness  of  its  privileges.  It  has  been  for  some, 
far  protracted.  But  while  it  has  been  thus  unim- 
proved, it  has  tended  only  to  increase  the  guilt  and 
danger  of  the  soul.  For  fifty  years  the  Redeemer 
has  called  upon  some  now  aged  sinner  to  turn  to  him 
and  live.  For  fifty  years,  angels  have  watched  for 
the  hour  of  his  conversion.  For  fifty  years,  divine 
Providence  has  crowned  his  ways  with  loving-kind- 
ness and  tender  mercy.  For  fifty  years,  there  has 
been  consternation  in  hell,  lest  he  should  be  per- 
suaded to  accept  the  Saviour's  invitations,  and  flee 
from  the  captivity  of  Satan.  But,  up  to  this  hour, 
amidst  the  whole  of  this  surrounding  interest  in  his 
determination,  his  mind  still  remains  alienated  from 
God.  To  drive  away  the  convictions  of  his  youth, 
the  Saviour  was  answered  by  a  promise  for  the  years 
of  maturity.  In  maturity,  he  was  put  off  to  a  yet 
more  advanced  age,  by  the  cares  and  labours  of  life 
which  had  then  so  multiplied  around  the  man,  that  no 
time  could  be  given  to  the  soul.  And  now  the  de 
dining  years  of  life  have  come,  and  what  is  to  be  the 
final  result?  Satan  is  now  tempting  him  to  sit  down 
in  sullen  despair,  under  the  feeling  that  when  so  much 
time  has  gone  by,  there  can  be  no  remaining  room  for 


DIFFICULTIES    OF    OLD   AGE.  245 

hope ;  that  he  is  too  old  to  change  a  course  of  habits 
which  have  been  for  so  many  years  contracted  and 
indulged ;  and  that  it  is  better  for  him  now  to  submit 
with  fortitude  to  that  which  has  become  a  kind  of  ne- 
cessity for  his  soul.  When  we  offer  to  him  now,  the 
kind  and  precious  invitations  of  the  Gospel,  he  can 
answer,  "  I  would  gladly  accept  them,  but  alas,  I  have 
wasted  so  much  time ;  I  have  lived  so  long  in  a  care- 
less state  of  mind  upon  this  great  subject ;  I  have  had 
so  many  mercies  which  have  not  been  improved ;  that 
I  have  now  no  hope  of  being  able  to  return.  The 
day  goeth  away ;  and  I  fear  I  must  submit  to  a  night 
of  darkness,  without  comfort  and  without  hope."  O, 
how  distressing  is  this  condition  of  an  aged  sinner ! 
How  difficult  is  it  to  arouse  him  to  a  consciousness, 
or  belief,  of  the  privileges  which  are  yet  remaining, 
and  of  the  duty  which  yet  rests  upon  him  !  He 
thinks  he  would  rejoice  to  return  to  an  offended  God, 
but  the  recollection  of  wasted  opportunities  drives 
him  to  despair,  and  he  fears  that  there  remains  no 
hope  for  his  soul,  if  he  should  attempt  it. 

II.  A  second  difficulty  which  the  text  suggests  as 
attending  upon  the  aged  sinner,  is  the  short  period 
of  grace  which  is  now  remaining  for  him.  "  The 
shadows  of  the  evening  are  stretched  out."  Many 
years  have  paesed  by  him  without  improvement.  But 
few,  very  few,  at  the  best,  are  now  left  for  the  attain- 
ment of  his  soul's  salvation.  As  life  passes  by,  the 
work  to  be  done  increases,  in  the  same  proportion 
that  the  time  in  which  it  is  to  be  done  is  diminished. 
That  reconciliation  to  God,  which  in  youth  was  com- 
paratively easy,  becomes  in  this  advanced  period  of 
life  so  difficult,  that  it  seems  well  nigh  impossible. 
x2 


246  DIFFICULTIES    OF    OLD    AGE. 

The  man  who  has  postponed  the  care  of  his  soul  to 
the  last  hours  of  life,  finds  when  these  hours  arrive, 
that  he  has  so  much  work  to  do  in  other  relations  in 
which  he  finds  himself  placed,  that  his  soul's  salvation 
becomes  almost  hopeless.  Standing  upon  the  verge 
of  eternity,  and  looking  into  the  darkness  which  there 
spreads  before  him,  the  aged  sinner  feels,  that  the 
danger  which  was  before  little  heeded,  and  considered 
quite  remote,  is  now  near  and  dreadful.  Beholding 
the  unchanging  holiness  of  God  contrasted  with  his 
own  continued  alienation  from  him,  he  sees  that  the 
distance  between  himself  and  his  Creator,  has  been 
immeasurably  increased  by  this  voluntary  estrange- 
ment. In  his  youth  he  had  wandered  widely  from 
his  God.  But  now  he  finds  himself  to  have  gone  so 
much  farther  astray,  that  the  period  of  youth  seems 
to  be  comparatively,  a  period  of  innocence. 

And  now,  how  shall  he  travel  back  over  this  whole 
distance  by  which  he  is  separated  from  an  holy  God  ? 
It  has  taken  him,  perhaps,  fifty  years,  to  accomplish 
his  outward  bound  journey.  Can  he  hope  for  fifty 
years  more,  as  a  period  for  his  return?  He  set  out 
early  in  the  morning  to  go  astray  from  God.  Through 
the  whole  day,  he  has  been  pressing  forward  in  his 
course,  with  unabating  rapidity.  And  now,  when  the 
day  has  gone,  and  the  shadow^s  of  the  evening  are 
stretched  out,  and  exhausted  nature  is  asking  for  re- 
pose ;  alas,  is  this  an  hour  in  which  to  commence  the 
journey  of  a  day?  Is  this  a  time  in  which  to  begin 
a  work,  which  as  soon  as  it  is  commenced,  midnight 
darkness  may  at  once  arrest  forever?  Death  now 
stands  at  the  door.  The  line  which  separates  him 
from  eternity,  has  dwindled  to  a  hair.     And  he  is 


DIFFICULTIES    OF    OLD    AGE.  247 

tempted  to  yield  to  total  despair  of  escaping  at  all 
from  the  ruin  which  is  so  close  upon  him.  The  diffi- 
culty which  his  own  heart  presents  as  thus  arising 
from  his  shortened  remaining  period  of  probation, 
Satan  employs  as  a  temptation  to  him,  to  be  quiet  and 
careless  under  his  conscious  load  of  sin.  He  ac- 
knowledges that  he  ought  to  have  made  up  his  mind 
before  this  time,  as  to  a  course  of  duty,  for  his  life 
But  he  answers  all  the  admonitions  which  are  given 
him  to  excite  him  now  to  action,  that  if  he  has  been 
all  this  time  wrong,  it  will  be  a  hopeless  undertaking, 
at.  this  late  period,  to  enter  upon  a  better  course  and 
system.  The  pride  and  the  stability  of  age  inter- 
fere. He  cannot  yield  to  those  strong  cryings  and 
tears,  which  might  make  up  in  some  degree  for  the 
loss  of  tifhe,  and  do  in  a  little  while  the  work  of 
many  years.  He  cannot  make  any  sudden  changes 
now.  He  cannot,  and  he  does  not  wish,  to  obtain  or 
exercise  a  spirit  of  deep  and  agonizing  earnestness 
for  his  soul.  There  is  no  opportunity  for  the  perfect- 
ing of  any  slower  or  more  gradual  work.  There  is 
no  time  left  him  to  finish  such  ^n  undertaking.  Thus 
he  argues  against  himself,  and  against  those  who  love 
his  precious  but  ruined  soul.  If  he  had  to  begin  his 
life  anew,  he  freely  confesses  that  he  would  not  pass  it 
as  he  has  done.  He  cheerfully  advises  those  who  are 
young,  by  no  means  to  follow  his  example  of  procras- 
tination, but  in  the  commencement  of  their  life,  to  make 
provision  for  their  eternity.  But  while  he  gives  this 
advice  to  others,  he  feels  himself  compelled  to  pursue 
the  course  in  which  he  has  been  so  long  engaged. 
Thus  it  is,  that  aged  parents  can  behold  their  chil- 
dren experiencing  the  power  of  religion,  rejoicing  in 


248  DIFFICULTIES    OF    OLD    AGE. 

the  life  and  happiness  of  the  Gospel,  and  uniting 
themselves  to  the  people  of  God ;  and  can  even  feel  a 
degree  of  pleasure  at  the  sight,  because  they  know  it 
is  the  only  path  of  safety  or  peace ;  while  they  them- 
selves remain  far  from  the  ways  of  God,  and  are 
living,  and  are  willing  to  live,  without  any  interest  in 
the  covenant  of  redeeming  mercy ;  so  many  difficul- 
ties surround  the  possibility  of  their  return  to  God, 
that  the  remaining  time  is  not  sufficient  to  remove 
them. 

III.  A  third  difficulty  in  the  way  of  the  aged  sinner, 
arises  from  the  increased  hardness  of  his  own  heart. 
He  cannot  now  attain  the  liveliness  of  feeling  which 
marked  the  period  of  his  youth.  When  he  was  young, 
conviction  of  sin  impressed  his  mind.  The  solemn 
proclamations  of  religious  truth  awakened  his  atten- 
tion. His  eyes  could  weep  under  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel.  His  affections  could  be  attracted  by  the 
inviting  hopes  and  promises  which  it  offered.  He 
then  often  felt  strongly  excited  towards  a  life  of  holi- 
ness and  piety.  But  now  he  has  no  such  feelings. 
He  sits  unmoved  beneath  the  preaching  of  the  divine 
word.  The  rain  which  descends  to  refresh  others, 
seems  rather  to  hasten  his  decay.  In  the  pathetic 
description  of  Barzillai,  "  he  can  no  more  hear  the 
voice  of  singing  men,  or  of  singing  women."  His  ears 
have  grown  dull  with  age,  and  the  most  awakening 
calls  of  truth  can  produce  no  influence  upon  his  mind. 
He  often  wishes  that  he  were  as  in  months  past,  when 
the  candle  of  the  Lord  shined  upon  his  habitation ; 
that  he  could  renew  again  the  awakened  feelings  and 
anxious  desires  of  an  earlier  period.  He  sometimes 
looks  with  a  kind  of  envy  upon  younger  persons  who 


DIFFICULTIES   OF    OLD    AGE.  249 

are  brought  under  the  renewing  influence  of  the  Gos- 
pel ;  and  he  h)ngs,  as  he  thinks,  to  bend  in  humble- 
ness of  mind,  at  the  Saviour's  feet.  But  he  can  find 
no  place  for  repentance.  He  cannot  exercise  a  godly 
sorrow.  The  summer  and  the  harvest  have  passed 
without  advantage,  and  every  succeeding  day  of 
autumn,  seems  only  to  dry,  and  harden,  and  seal  up 
the  earth,  against  the  arrival  of  a  frost-bound  and 
cheerless  winter. 

This  hardness  of  heart,  the  necessary  effect  of  a 
long  continuance  in  an  unconverted  state  of  character, 
forms  a  most  serious  difficulty  in  the  way  of  an  aged 
sinner's  return  to  God.  I  do  not  here  speak  of  any 
judicial  hardening  of  the  heart  by  the  power  of  God. 
Under  such  a  sentence,  it  is  vain  to  talk  of  difficulties. 
But  I  refer  to  the  universal  and  natural  effisct  of  a 
continued  rejection  of  the  Gospel,  to  show  how  en- 
tirely unfit,  a  late  period  of  life  is,  for  the  attainment 
of  the  deep  and  pervading  emotions  of  a  renewed  and 
spiritual  mind.  The  rapid  passage  of  the  day  renders 
every  hour  which  is  left,  of  tenfold  importance.  The 
stretching  out  of  the  sliadows  of  the  evening,  admonish 
the  aged  man,  "what  thou  doest,  do  quickly."  But 
this  encasing  of  the  affections,  this  hard  and  callous 
state  of  the  heart,  blocks  up  the  way,  and  prevents  the 
accomplishment  of  the  work  which  remains  still  to 
be  done.  A  tyrant  necessity  drives  man  on  to  run 
with  untried  rapidity,  and  he  has  so  bound  fetters 
around  his  own  feet,  that  he  has  not  power  to  move. 
Many  a  long-lived  sinner  attempts  in  the  last  hours 
of  life,  like  aged  Joab,  to  cling  to  the  horns  of  the 
altar  for  protection,  and  finds  that  even  there,  his 
hoary  hairs,  the  monuments  only  of  long-continMcd 

32 


250  DIFFICULTIES    OF    OLD    AGE. 

rebellion  and  sin,  cannot  come  down  to  the  grave  in 
peace. 

IV.  The  fourth  difficulty  in  the  way  of  the  conver- 
sion of  the  aged  sinner  to  which  I  would  refer,  is  the 
pride  of  character  which  is  always  an  attendant  upon 
advanced  periods  of  life.  There  is  but  one  way  ot 
salvation  opened  for  man  whether  young  or  old.  He 
must  come  down  at  the  Saviour's  feet  as  an  humble, 
heart-broken  sinner,  to  obtain  pardon  and  peace  in 
his  atonement,  and  acceptance  with  God  freely  through 
him.  This  implies  an  acknowledgment,  that  through 
the  whole  preceding  life,  *he  has  been  in  a  state  of 
rebellion  against  God,  that  he  has  gone  astray  from 
his  birth,  that  he  is  now  anxious  to  come  entirely  back 
to  the  point  from  whence  heat  first  set  out,  and  to  seek 
the  free  and  undeserved  mercy  of  a  Saviour,  whom  he 
has  hitherto  rejected.  This  to  the  proud  nature  of 
man,  is  a  most  humiliating  course.  The  pride  of  age 
rebels  at  once  against  it.  The  wandering  child  can 
go  home  to  a  pious  parent,  with  a  broken  spirit,  and 
a  weeping  eye,  and  confess  the  shame  and  sorrow, 
which  the  remembrance  of  a  life  of  sin  produces.  But 
a  parent  who  has  grown  old  without  an  experience  of 
religion,  cannot  come  down,  to  ask  the  counsel  and 
prayers,  of  a  child  who  has  found  the  Saviour  and  is 
rejoicing  in  liis  love.  The  pride  of  age  prohibits  such 
a  course.  The  heart  may  be  often  moved,  the  con- 
science awakened,  and  the  emotions  aroused,  in  the 
bosom  of  an  aged  transgressor,  and  a  strong  desire  be 
felt,  to  lay  down  his  burden,  and  find  peace  in  believ- 
ing in  Jesus.  But  an  assumed  dignity  and  coolness 
of  manner  are  drawn  over  a  broken,  bleeding  spirit, 
because  an  acknowledgment  of  these  awakened  feel- 


DIFFICULTIES    OF    OLD    AGE.  251 

ings,  will  be  so  humiliating  to  the  age  and  station  of 
the  individual  concerned.  But  there  remains  no  other 
course  of  safety.  To  this  humbling  ground,  sinful 
man  must  be  brought,  or  he  will  assuredly  perish. 
Age  furnishes  no  exemption.  Nay,  so  far  from  doing 
this,  it  requires  still  deeper  abasement,  from  the  longer 
continuance  in  guilt. 

This  difficulty  is  now  preventing,  and  has  long  been 
preventing  the  return  of  many  aged  hearers  of  the 
Gospel,  to  God.  They  are  convinced,  as  they  listen 
to  its  calls,  of  the  necessity  and  advantage  of  the 
course  pointed  out.  They  almost  resolve  to  pursue 
it.  But  when  they  return  from  the  sanctuary  of  God 
to  their  own  homes,  the  confession  to  children,  and 
servants,  and  friends,  that  they  have  been  all  this  time 
in  the  wrong,  is  so  painful  and  repulsive  to  their  minds, 
that  they  cannot  yield.  Perhaps  the  deteriSiination  is 
made  to  commence  a  course  of  family  worship,  to 
enter  upon  a  succession,  of  Christian  duties  and  re- 
quirements, long  neglected ;  perhaps  the  hand  is  actu- 
ally laid  upon  the  Bible,  to  commence  the  work ;  when 
the  heart  flutters  with  indecision,  and  the  pride  of  age 
rises  up,  and  chokes  the  utterance,  and  takes  away  the 
strength.  If  there  Avere  some  more  secret,  and  less 
humiliating  way  opened,  they  would  embrace  it ;  but 
probably  this  increasing  pride  will  always  forbid  their 
coming  down  to  the  humbled  spirit  of  a  child,  to  seek 
the  salvation  which  is  freely  offered  to  their  acceptance. 
With  such  a  difficulty  thus  submitted  to  in  their  way, 
they  may  well  adopt  the  exclamation  of  our  text.  "  Wo 
unto  us !  for  the  day  goeth  away,  and  the  shadows 
of  the  evening  are  stretched  out."  "  The  harvest  is 
past,  and  the  summe*  is  ended,  and  we  are  not  saved." 


252  DIFFICULTIES   OF   OLD    AGE. 

Their  whole  work  of  salvation  is  to  be  accomplished, 
and  their  hearts  are  now  found  so  hardened  and  proud, 
that  they  are  unable  to  set  out  upon  the  great  work, 
which  the  whole  of  life  is  little  enough  to  finish. 

In  concluding  this  discourse,  I  would  earnestly  im- 
press upon  your  minds,  .^le  thoughts  which  have  been 
presented.  Many  of  you,  my  friends,  have  lived  past 
the  middle  point  of  life,  and  yet  are  without  God  in  the 
world.  How  improvident  would  you  consider  your- 
selves to  be,  if  you  had  waited  until  this  time,  without 
selecting  for  yourselves,  a  business  for  the  present  life, 
or  without  beginning  to  lay  up  any  thing  in  this  world, 
for  yourselves,  or  your  families  !  What  would  you 
think  of  the  man  or  woman,  forty  years  of  age,  who 
was  just  agitating  the  question,  what  course  of  life 
shall  I  pursue  to  obtain  my  bread  ?  If  this  subject 
had  never-gained  attention  until  then,  you  would  deem 
it  almost  an  hopeless  attempt,  to  consider  it  at  all. 
But  liow  many  have  passed  this  age,  and  have  never 
entered  upon  the  work  of  their  soul's  salvation  !  Per- 
haps some  of  them  have  hardly  thought  of  the  question 
whether  they  have  souls  to  save.  How  sad  is  this 
condition !  How  many  difficulties  surround  their 
way  !  The  path  of  religion  seems  so  much  blocked 
up,  that  salvation  appears  almost  beyond  their  reach. 

You  Yvill  say,  that  this  view  is  most  discouraging. 
Notliing,  my  brethren,  is  so  discouraging,  as  this  care- 
lessness of  habit,  from  which  I  desire  to  arouse  you. 
You  had  far  better  feel  despair,  than  feel  nothing. 
When  you  do  despond,  we  may  hope,  that  you  will 
embrace  the  arm  extended  for  your  rescue.  The 
thoughts  which  have  been  now  pressed  upon  your 
attention  ought  to  excite  you,  (ko  an  earnest,  ^eter- 


DIFFICULTIES    OF    OLD    AGE.  253 

mined  exertion  for  your  eternal  safety.  Your  time  is 
short.  Your  difficulties  are  many.  Your  work  is 
arduous.  Still  eternal  safety  is  within  your  reach, 
and  your  escape  is  not  impossible.  If  you  would  set 
yourselves  immediately  and  earnestly  about  it,  God 
would  remove  the  difficulties,  and  give  you  success. 
Nothing  is  wanting  in  God.  You  are  not  straitened 
in  him.  If  you  will  be  reconciled  to  him,  in  his  ap- 
pointed Saviour,  you  will  find  peace.  If  you  will  still 
reject  him,  your  difficulties  will  still  increase.  And  as 
the  day  sinks  in  darkness,  and  the  shadows  of  the 
evening  are  stretched  out,  to  be  soon  lost  in  unchang- 
ing night,  a  deeper,  and  a  deeper  wo,  will  be  sounded 
from  your  souls,  and  echoed  back  upon  you,  from  the 
regions  of  despair.  0  fly  from  impending  ruin  to  the 
arms  of  Jesus.  However  painful  and  humbling  the 
outset  may  be,  the  humbling  step  is  but  one.  Be  will- 
ing to  be  abased  before  God,  that  he  may  exalt  you 
in  due  time.  Accept  the  righteousness  of  Jesus,  and 
be  found  in  him,  converted  and  sanctified,  and  you 
shall  be  happy  and  secure.  But  if  you  still  delay, 
every  day  will  make  the  matter  worse ;  and  what  the 
end  shall  be,  your  own  consciences  are  fully  able  to 
declare. 


XVII. 


THE    SORROWS   OF    OLD   AGE. 


EccLESiASTES  vi.  3. — If  a  man  live  many  years,  so  that  the  days  of  his 
years  are  many,  and  his  soul  be  not  filled  with  good,  I  say  that  an 
untimely  birth  is  better  than  he. 

Long  life  has  ever  been  esteemed  by  man  as  a  great 
and  desirable  blessing.  In  the  early  periods  of  the 
world,  the  number  of  years  which  were  comprised  in 
such  a  life,  was  so  great,  that  in  our  present  expe- 
rience, we  can  hardly  imagine  the  appearance  or  the 
feelings  of  a  man,  whose  locks  were  the  growth  of  cen- 
turies, and  who  had  lived,  to  behold  the  descent  of 
many  hundreds  of  immortal  beings  from  himself. 
When  the  fallen  nature  of  man  had  transformed  this 
lengthened  period  of  trial,  into  a  more  extended  pro- 
gress of  iniquity,  a  more  unfathomable  depth  of  sin,  the 
divine  Creator  cut  down  in  successive  generations,  man's 
opportunity  of  rebellion  against  himself,  to  less  than  one- 
tenth  the  period  first  granted  to  the  human  race.  No 
longer  like  the  oak  witnessing  the  passage  of  centuries, 
now,  we  all  do  fade  as  a  leaf  At  the  utmost  ordinary 
limit,  the  days  of  mjin  are  but  threescore  years  and 
ten.  The  wish  for  long  life  can  hardly  extend  itself, 
beyond  this  narrow  compass  of  man's  numbered  days. 

254 


THE    SORROWS    OF    OLD    AGE.  255 

Few  in  fact  attain  this  utmost  limit.  And  men  are 
accustomed  to  arrange  their  plans  for  business  and 
exertion,  within  a  far  narrower  compass,  than  the 
hope  of  this  would  allow  them.  In  our  worldly  occu- 
pations, we  are  governed  by  the  principle,  that  what 
is  to  be  done,  must  be  done  quickly.  No  man  in  the 
possession  of  his  reason,  thinks  of  laying  out  a  plan 
for  the  acquisition  of  wealth,  or  for  the  attainment  of 
any  object  of  mere  worldly  desire,  which  is  to  be  com- 
menced, when  he  has  attained  the  age  of  threescore 
years  and  ten.  To  say,  that  he  would  then  set  out, 
upon  a  business  which  his  whole  life  should  have  been 
employed  in  finishing,  and  the  care  for  which  should 
at  that  time  be  dismissed,  from  a  mind  which  needs  to  be 
at  rest  from  labour,  would  justly  stamp  a  man  with  the 
reputation  of  insanity.  He  who  should  announce  his 
intention  to  bind  himself  when  he  had  attained  the  age 
of  seventy,  as  an  apprentice  to  a  trade,  or  to  enter  as 
a  pupil  in  a  school,  or  even  to  plant  an  orchard  in  his 
ground,  with  the  hope  of  eating  of  the  fruit  which  it 
should  bear  him,  would  be  an  object  of  pity  or  ridi- 
cule. And  yet  how  many  are  hoping  to  prepare  for 
an  eternal  occupation,  and  to  attain  an  inexhaustible 
knowledge,  in  this  last  flickering  of  human  existence ! 
In  the  business  of  this  world,  men  are  wise.  It  is 
only  when  we  bring  them  to  the  concerns  of  a  world 
to  come,  that  they  seem  to  have  laid  the  dominion 
of  reason  aside. 

But  what  is  the  real  object,  for  which  the  present 
life  of  man  has  been  bestowed,  and  is  prolonged  ?  Is 
it  to  acquire  a  trade  ?  to  obtain  an  education  in  science? 
or  to  lay  up  treasures  which  may  be  moth-eaten  and 
destroyed  ?     If  we  should  derive  our  answer  from  the 


256  THE    SORROWS    OF    OLD    AGE. 

habits  of  mankind,  it  would  seem  to  be  this.  But  if 
we  go  to  the  wisdom  of  God,  for  our  reply,  there  is 
presented  before  us  a  far  different  end.  In  our  text, 
the  wise  preacher  supposes  a  man  to  have  seen  the 
utmost  possible  limit  of  human  existence.  And  then 
he  estimates  the  w^orth  of  the  whole  of  this  proud  and 
protracted  life,  if  it  has  passed  without  the  acquisition 
of  that  object  which  the  word  of  God  proposes  for 
the  attainment  of  man.  "  If  a  man  live  many  years,  so 
that  the  days  of  his  years  be  many,  and  his  soul  be  not 
filled  with  good,  I  say  that  an  untimely  birth  is  better 
than  he ;  for  he  cometh  in  with  vanity,  and  departeth 
in  darkness,  and  his  name  shall  be  covered  with  dark- 
ness." One  far  wiser  than  Solomon,  has  given  us  the 
same  estimate,  in  that  striking  demand  which  he  has 
built  upon  man's  universal  love  for  gain,  "  what  shall  it 
profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his 
own  soul  ?"  When  he  has  examined  his  account  in 
the  light  of  eternity,  how  much  will  it  appear  that  he 
has  gained  in  exchange  for  his  soul?  Perhaps  the 
experience  of  some  who  hear  me,  may  soon  furnish 
them,  the  exact,  and  the  only  adequate  reply  to  these 
demands,  and  constrain  them  to  adopt  our  Lord's  as- 
sertion in  reference  to  Judas,  in  its  application  to  them- 
selves, "  it  had  been  good  for  us  if  we  had  not  been 
born."  "  For  who  can  dwell  with  the  devouring  fire? 
who  can  dwell  with  everlasting  burnins;s?" 

In  speaking  upon  this  all-important  subject,  we  will 
consider  first, 

I.  What  is  the  great  object  of  human  life. 
And, 

II.  The  sorrows  of  the  man  who  has  lived 

LONG  without  ATTAINING  IT. 


THE    SORROWS    OF    OLD    AGE.  251 

I.  The  great  object  for  which  the  present  life  of 
man  was  given,  is  that  "  the  soul  may  be  filled  with 
good."  It  was  to  gain  this,  that  each  one  has  been 
placed  in  his  period  of  earthly  education.  It  is  for 
this  alone,  that  divine  forbearance  lengthens  out  to 
grey  hairs,  the  life  of  man  who  has  not  yet  secured  it, 
to  give  to  men,  the  full  opportunity  to  be  wise,  and  to 
think  of  the  things  which  belong  to  their  peace.  The 
possession  of  an  immortal  soul,  a  soul  which  must  be 
rejoicing  in  unspeakable  good,  or  lamenting  in  unut- 
terable evils,  ages  after  the  body  in  which  it  has  dwelt, 
has  returned  to  dust  as  it  was,  forms  man's  chief 
distinction  from  the  brutes  which  perish. 

How  then  shall  this  soul  be  filled  with  good  ?  Is 
there  any  thing  within  the  limits  of  the  gifts  of  this 
world,  which  can  thus  fill  it?  Is  there  any  creature 
on  earth,  which  can  form  a  recompense  for  its  loss  ? 
Can  any  proud  neglecter  of  God  carry  the  wealth  of 
the  present  world,  to  bribe  the  flames,  or  to  corrupt 
the  tormentors,  of  a  world  to  come  ?  Can  he  buy  out 
his  pardon  with  money?  When  he  can  sow  grace  in 
the  furrows  of  his  field,  or  fill  his  barns  with  glory, 
when  he  can  plough  up  heaven  from  the  earth,  and 
extract  God  from  perishing  creatures,  the  world  may 
fill  his  soul  with  good  and  furnish  an  adequate  ex- 
change for  its  loss. 

But  who  does  not  see,  the  utter  disproportion  be- 
tween the  desires  of  the  soul,  and  all  the  fruits  which 
earth  produces  ?  The  sinner  is  descending,  where  his 
earthly  glory  cannot  descend  after  him,  and  where,  for 
a  soul  unredeemed,  all  redemption  ceaseth  forever. 
Naked  he  came  into  the  world,  and  naked  must  he 
leave  it  again.  He  has  to  stand,  where  his  soul  will 
y2  33 


258  THE    SORROWS    OF    OLD    AGE. 

constitute  his  all ;  where  the  crowns  of  kings,  and  the 
shackles  of  prisoners,  the  robes  of  princes,  and  the 
rags  of  beggars  will  form  no  distinctions  :  where  all 
classes  of  men  must  answer  upon  an  equal  footing  and 
plea,  for  eternity;  and  where,  an  experience  of  the 
power  of  godliness  in  a  life  of  probation,  will  form  the 
only  ground  for  hope.  What  then  is  the  good,  with 
which  the  soul  must  be  filled  ? 

That  man  who  has  found  a  reconciled  God,  has 
filled  his  soul  with  good.  There  is  none  good  but  one, 
that  is  God.  He  who  has  received  Emmanuel  into  his 
heart  by  faith,  so  that  God  dwells  in  him,  and  he  in 
God,  has  found  the  one  great  abiding  good  for  man. 

The  privileges  of  the  Gospel  are  bestowed,  and  the 
Saviour's  voice  is  calling,  upon  man,  through  his  whole 
period  of  probation,  his  day  of  grace,  that  he  may  be 
led  to  seek  salvation  in  that  infinite  atonement  which 
is  offered  as  his  only  good.  In  himself,  there  dwelleth 
no  good  thing.  None  of  the  attainments  which  are 
within  the  reach  of  man's  own  powers  can  procure  for 
him,  the  least  permanent  good.  In  the  unconverted 
soul,  there  dwelleth  nothing,  but  defilement  and  guilt 
and  ruin.  And  man  has  no  experience  of  good,  until  he 
has  been  brought,  Avith  a  broken  and  contrite  spirit,  to 
lay  down  his  hopes  and  desires  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and 
to  seek  for  peace  and  salvation,  through  his  death  for 
sin.  The  converted  and  justified  soul  is  filled  with 
good,  because  it  is  made  the  habitation  of  God  through 
the  Spirit.  The  unconverted  soul  has  not  seen  God, 
neither  known  him,  and  has  therefore  no  good. 

How  important  then,  becomes  the  doctrine  of  our 
text !  "  If  a  man  live  many  years,  so  that  the  days 
of  his  years  are  many,  and  his  soul  be  not  filled  with 


THE    SORROWS   OF    OLD    AGE.  259 

good;"  if  he  be  still  in  an  unconverted  state;  if  he 
has  never  submitted  his  heart  to  the  dominion  of  the 
Saviour,  and  has,  therefore,  no  hope  or  treasure  laid 
up  for  himself  in  another  world ;  "I  say  that  an  un- 
timely birth  is  better  than  he."  Any  state  vvrithin 
the  conception  of  man,  short  of  the  final  and  inter- 
minable agonies  and  despair  of  a  world  of  recom- 
pense, is  preferable  to  the  state  of  an  old  man,  who 
still  refuses  the  hopes  and  offers  of  the  Gospel. 

II.  I  am  thus  led  to  my  second  and  main  topic  of 
remark,  the  sorrows  of  the  man  who  has  lived  long, 
without  attaining  this  great  object  of  life,  whose  soul 
is  not  "  filled  with  good."  If  there  be  such  an  one 
before  me,  I  pray  him  to  consider  the  evils  w4iich  he 
is  bringing  upon  himself,  the  sorrows  which  are  multi- 
plying arovmd  him,  while  he  is  thus  without  God  in 
the  world. 

1 .  The  first  of  these  which  we  may  notice,  is  that 
he  has  passed  through  a  life,  a  reflection  upon  which 
gives  him  no  comfort.  So  has  the  divine  Creator 
constituted  the  human  mind,  that  man  is  frequently 
impelled  to  look  back  upon  his  own  conduct  and  cha- 
racter. Even  when  he  desires  to  forget  himself,  he 
finds  that  he  cannot  do  it.  Past  days  and  years  rush 
spontaneously  upon  his  recollection,  and  bring  with 
them  their  several  loads  of  joy  or  sorrow,  to  lay 
them  down  before  him,  for  his  deliberate  and  in- 
evitable inspection.  Man  is  thus  constantly  laying 
up  something  for  his  latter  days.  And  according  as 
he  has  sown,  so  must  he  then  reap. 

To  the  true  Christian,  this  review  of  life,  humbling 
as  a  knowledge  of  sin  makes  it,  is  in  many  respects 
highly  comforting.     It  gives  him  new  cause  of  thank- 


260  THE    SORROWS    OF    OLD    AGE. 

fulness,  when  he  can  look  back  from  the  vale  of  age, 
or  the  bed  of  death,  and  see  that  his  life  has  been 
cheerfully  consecrated  unto  God,  who  made  and  who 
has  upheld  it;  and  that  Ebenezers,  as  monuments  of 
gratitude  for  divine  goodness,  have  been  set  up  in 
every  path  through  which  he  has  passed.  In  the 
midst  of  all  the  trials  of  Job,  this  retrospect  upon  the 
divine  goodness  to  him,  gave  him  unspeakable  com- 
fort. ''  When  the  ear  heard  me,  then  it  blessed  me ; 
and  when  the  eye  saw  me,  it  gave  witness  unto  me, 
because  I  delivered  the  poor  that  cried,  and  the  father- 
less, and  him  that  had  none  to  help  him ;  the  blessing 
of  him  that  was  ready  to  perish  came  upon  me,  and  I 
caused  the  widovv^'s  heart  to  sing  for  joy."  Such  re- 
flections gave  him  no  pain,  and  he  gladly  ascribed  all 
the  glory  to  the  Almighty  who  was  with  him,  and 
whose  candle  shined  upon  his  habitation.  David 
could  say,  "  I  have  been  young,  and  now  am  old,  and 
yet  saw  I  never  the  righteous  forsaken."  Paul  could 
look  back  upon  a  long  ministry  for  him  who  loved 
him  when  he  was  in  the  ignorance  of  unbelief,  and 
say,  <'  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of 
my  departure  is  at  hand ;  I  have  fought  a  good  fight, 
I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith; 
henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  right- 
eousness, which  the  Lord  the  righteous  Judge  shall 
give  me  in  that  day."  In  a  similar  spirit,  and  with 
like  comfort,  every  aged  disciple  may  look  back  upon 
his  life,  and  the  reflection  will  be  made  to  impart  to 
him,  real  and  important  consolation. 

But  what  sorrow  and  self-crimination  arises  from 
the  recollection  of  a  wasted  life  !  No  beam  of  light 
is  cast  upon  the  mind  from  any  act  or  feeling  which 


THE    SORROWS    OF    OLD    AGE.  261 

memory  brings  to  view.  Every  hour  rises  up  as  the 
accuser  of  a  guilty  conscience.  The  remembrance  of 
youth,  is  a  remembrance  of  convictions  smothered,  the 
Holy  Spirit  resisted,  and  a  Saviour's  love  despised. 
The  thoughts  upon  manhood  present  the  awful  picture, 
of  the  self-immolation  of  the  sinner's  soul  to  the  enemy 
of  God  and  man,  upon  the  altar  of  worldly  gain.  The 
latter  years  as  they  have  collected  upon  each  other, 
and  are  thrusting  him  down  so  rapidly  from  the  earth, 
seem  ready  to  fall  upon  him  with  their  neglected  privi- 
leges, and  to  grind  him  to  powder.  All  the  resolu- 
tions and  plans  which  were  made  for  life,  have  gone  by 
unfulfilled.  Every  opportunity  has  been  lost.  Every 
mercy  has  been  abused.  The  various  scenes  of  past 
years,  which  in  their  approach,  seemed  to  be  a  pillar 
of  light  and  hope,  now  they  are  looked  back  upon, 
show  no  aspect  but  a  thick  cloud  of  darkness  and 
despondency.  O,  what  sorrow  for  the  aged  sinner, 
does  such  a  Hfe  produce!  How  often  does  it  lead 
him  to  exclaim,  "  O  that  I  had  been  cut  off  from  the 
womb,  that  I  had  perished  from  my  birth!"  And 
yet,  how  many  of  you,  my  friends,  are  thus  laying  up 
sorrows,  which  shall  consume  your  flesh,  as  it  were 
fire !  Nothing  but  sorrow  will  arise  to  you,  from  a 
life  which  has  thus  been  spent  without  Christ.  Old 
age  may  be  crowned  with  human  glory,  loaded  with 
earthly  wealth,  and  having  every  comfort  which  the 
power  of  man  can  give ;  but  this  reflection  upon  a 
soul  destroyed,  a  Saviour  crucified  afresh,  will  tear 
the  glory  from  the  royal  diadem,  and  turn  the  sweetest 
joys  of  earth  into  anguish  and  poison. 

2.  A  second  sorrow  of  old  age  without  piety,  is 
that  man  is  pressing  onward  to  a  near  eternity,  for 


262  THE    SORROWS    OF    OLD    AGE. 

which  he  has  no  preparation.  The  only  preparation 
which  any  sinner  can  have  for  a  happy  eternity,  con 
sists  in  his  being  found  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
clothed  with  his  righteousness,  and  freely  ransomed 
through  his  blood.  Eternity  itself  cannot  be  avoided. 
There  is  no  discharge  in  that  war.  Man  is  pressed 
forward  to  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  with  a 
resistless  force.  Whether  he  be  prepared  or  unpre- 
pared, he  must  appear  before  the  judgment  seat  of 
Christ.  This  course  is  altogether  inevitable.  In 
youth,  the  thought  of  it  seems  to  be  easily  removed, 
because  the  day  of  parting  appears  to  be  so  far  off. 
The  youth  may  live  to  be  an  old  man,  and  he  imagines 
that  he  will  then  find  time  and  opportunity  enough,  to 
take  care  of  his  soul.  But  when  old  age  has  actually 
arrived,  the  hour  of  death  cannot  be  far  removed. 
Soon  then,  the  body  must  dissolve,  and  the  immortal 
spirit  must  go  to  bear  witness  for  itself  before  the 
throne  of  the  heart-searching  God.  The  prospect 
which  was  before  a  distant  one,  now  comes  to  the 
very  door.  The  man  stands  upon  the  margin  of  the 
ocean.  It  spreads  itself  before  him,  with  an  incon- 
ceivable magnitude.  But  what  is  the  peculiar  view 
upon  which  his  eye  must  rest?  Does  this  ocean 
shine  beneath  the  glories  of  the  sun  ?  Does  every 
image  of  beauty  seem  to  be  reflected  from  its  waters, 
and  sweet  and  enduring  peace  to  abide  upon  its  glassy 
surface?  Does  its  attractive  stillness  tempt  him  to 
launch  upon  its  bosom  with  confidence  and  hope  ?  or, 
does  he  see  it  agitated  with  tempests,  lashed  into  fury 
with  a  mighty  wind,  rising  up  in  anger  to  the  very 
heavens,  exposing  in  its  heavings  the  deep  abyss  of 
hell,  tossing  upon  its  waters  the  sad  mementos  of  a 


THE    SORROWS    OF    OLD    AGE.  263 

thousand  shipwrecks,  and  proclaiming  in  every  roar- 
ing which  strikes  upon  his  ear,  that  there,  there  is  no 
safety  for  his  soul  ?  Does  he  feel  himself  drawn  for- 
ward by  the  joyous  notes  and  cheerful  music  of  those 
who  are  floating  in  everlasting  security  upon  its  bosom? 
or  is  he  driven  back  upon  himself,  by  the  wailings  of 
anguish  which  burst  from  its  depths,  and  finally,  in 
defiance  of  his  last  convulsive  grasp  upon  some  poor 
shrub  of  earthly  confidence,  is  he  plunged  forever  into 
the  terrors  which  an  avenging  Judge  has  prepared  for 
his  guilty  soul  ? 

O,  how  much  is  involved  for  man  in  such  a  contrast! 
It  all  rests  upon  the  single  point,  the  one  grand  fact, 
has  he  made  provision  for  judgment,  has  he  sought 
and  obtained  a  refuge  in  the  abundant  redemption  of 
a  Saviour's  obedience  unto  death?  How  truly  is  that 
old  age  which  has  no  such  provision  for  eternity,  and 
to  which  "  hope  comes  not,  that  comes  to  all"  besides, 
an  evil  day,  in  which  man  finds  no  pleasure !  I 
wonder  not  that  the  aged  sinner  clings  with  such 
tenacity  to  life.  I  wonder  not  that  he  dreads  to  leave 
a  world,  beyond  which  there  is  no  hope  for  his  soul. 
I  wonder  not  that  he  fears  an  endless  condition  of 
sorrow  and  anguish  under  the  wrath  of  an  offended 
God.  But  0,  how  unwise  is  he,  to  expose  himself  to 
this!  Whatever  he  may  have  gotten  of  earthly 
goods,  how  is  he  profited  ?  Every  day  is  now 
counted,  like  the  days  of  a  criminal  condemned  to 
die.  To-morrow,  and  to-morrow,  he  may  be  here 
But  the  last  day  is  near  at  hand.  The  fearful  hour 
cannot  be  far  removed,  when  he  must  depart  without 
hope  or  'comfort,  to  the  presence  of  an  offended  God. 
And  while  an  eternity  for  which  he  is  so  little  pre- 


264  THE    SORROWS    OF    OLD    AGE. 

pared,  presses  so  near  upon  him,  he  cannot  but  feel 
that  "an  untimely  birth  is  better  than  he;"  that  it 
would  be  better  for  him,  if  he  had  never  been  born. 

3.  Another  sorrow  in  old  age  without  piety,  is,  that 
man  has  experienced  the  vanity  of  the  worlds  and  has 
nothing  which  can  supply  its  place.     The  false  paint- 
ings of  the  world  may  delude  the  young,  and  palm 
themselves  upon  them  for  realities.     They  love  to  be 
thus  deceived.     They  make  no  opposition  to  the  de- 
lusions which  are  thus  practised  upon  them  by  these 
enticing   instruments  of  Satan.     Wealth,  and  plea- 
sure, and  reputation,  seem  to  them  to  be  reasonable 
and  proper  objects  of  pursuit ;  and  in  them,  the  young 
vainly  imagine  that  they  can  find  the  satisfaction  they 
desire.     But  the  aged  have  outlived  these  deceptions. 
They  have  experienced  too  much,  to  be  able  now  to 
believe  that  the  present  world  can  furnish  them  any 
abiding  rest.     I  am  addressing  some  who  can  tell  me 
they  have  tasted  of  every  fountain  the  world  can  offer, 
and  know  that  but  miserable  comfort  is  to  be  derived 
from  them  all.     Mere  sensual  indulgence,  whether  it 
be  of  a  light  and  giddy  character,  or  of  a  deeper  stain 
of  pollution,  can  offer  them  nothing.     They  have  no 
desires  for  which  such  provisions  are  suitable.   Money 
can  do  them  no  good.     A  grave  and  a  cofiin  will  soon 
be   all   that   they  can   want,   which   it   can   furnish. 
Their  own  characters  present  them  no  consolation, 
though  a   thousand   sycophants   should  praise   their 
course  of  life,  for  they  see  that  man  judgeth  only  ac- 
cording to  the  outward  appearance,  while  God  looketh 
upon  the  heart.     When  they  were  young,  they  could 
be  active  and  occupied,  and  could  thus  divert  their 
thoughts  from  the  deep  consciousness  of  deficiency 


THE    SORROWS   OF   OLD    AGE.  265 

which  was  even  then  felt.  But  now,  other  hands 
have  taken  their  employments.  They  have  been  re- 
leased from  busy  engagements.  Many  hours  in  the 
day  must  be  passed  in  thought,  and  they  cannot  help 
thinking  of  themselves.  They  are  obliged  often  to 
sit  down  in  a  contemplation  of  their  own  past  and 
future  existence ;  and  so  far  as  any  source  of  comfort 
is  concerned,  their  minds  present  a  perfect  blank. 
The  world  recedes  and  disappears.  Its  cisterns  are 
all  broken ;  its  springs  have  become  dry ;  its  flowers 
have  withered ;  its  joys  are  tasteless.  And  in  the 
midst  of  this  wilderness  of  the  soul,  they  can  find  no 
fresh  springs  of  hope  or  peace.  Their  days  are  con- 
sumed from  the  earth,  they  flee  away,  and  yet  they 
see  no  good.  There  is  nothing  now  which  they  think 
they  would  not  give,  for  a  well-grounded  hope  of  ever- 
lasting rest.  No  joy  seems  to  them  so  important  as 
that  which  would  have  arisen  from  an  early  and  cor- 
dial acceptance  of  the  offered  lOving-kindness  of  a 
Saviour.  But  alas,  vain  as  the  world  is,  it  is  all  the}'- 
have.  They  have  laid  up  their  treasures  here.  They 
have  here  sought  their  joys  and  comforts ;  and  tliey 
have  no  other  more  continuing  city.  They  ask  for 
religious  hope ;  but  it  seems  to  flee  from  them.  They 
call  for  a  Saviour ;  but  he  appears  to  turn  a  deaf  car 
to  their  cries.  They  try  to  persuade  themselves  that 
they  are  safe  ;  but  conscience  will  not  be  charmed 
into  silence.  Neither  alleged  belief  nor  attempted 
infidelity,  can  furnish  them  the  mental  defence  which 
they  need.  They  would  be  glad  to  believe  that  there 
is  no  future  suffering  for  sin.  They  sometimes  sa)'' 
they  do  believe  so.  But  their  hearts  cannot  rest 
upon  this  hope.  They  are  troubled  and  terrified 
Z  34 


266  THE    SORROWS    OF    OLD    AGE. 

still,  even  with  what  they  affect  to  call  phantoms  of 
the  imagination.  They  are  thus  left  without  a  single 
source  of  comfort;  and  while  they  are  struggling 
thus  with  unconquerable  despair,  they  feel  that  the 
man  who  has  not  an  interest  in  the  Saviour,  and  a  sure 
acceptance  in  his  redemption,  has  no  hope,  though  he 
has  gained,  when  God  takes  away  his  soul. 

These  three  sources  of  painful  reflection  are  surely 
sufficient  to  awaken  attention  to  this  important  sub- 
ject. "  If  a  man  live  many  years,  so  that  the  days 
of  his  years  are  many,  and  his  soul  be  not  filled  with 
good,  I  say  that  an  untimely  birth  is  better  than  he." 
Why  is  it  so  ?  Because  he  has  passed  a  long  life, 
and  has  no  comfort  in  reflecting  upon  it;  for  it  is 
only  by  filling  the  soul  with  good,  that  the  remem- 
brance of  many  days  can  give  us  peace.  Because  he 
is  pressed  to  the  very  margin  of  a  boundless  eternity, 
for  which  he  has  made  no  preparation ;  for  it  is  only 
a  soul  filled  with  good,  that  can  be  a  preparation  for 
eternity.  Because  he  has  proved  that  the  world  can 
do  him  no  good,  and  he  has  nothing  to  supply  its 
place.  0,  how  distressing  and  dark  is  an  old  age  like 
this  !  How  much  reason  has  every  unrenewed  hearer 
to  shake  himself  from  the  dust,  and  to  consecrate 
every  hour  of  his  remaining  life,  to  this  great  purpose 
of  his  soul's  salvation !  There  are  many  in  youth, 
and  in  the  maturity  of  life,  who  are  postponing  to  old 
age,  that  work  which  ought  now  to  be  undertaken,  in 
preparation  for  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ.  I  w^ould 
convince  them  of  the  folly  of  this  self-destruction. 
Why,  my  friends,  why  will  you  persist  in  seeking  the 
living  among  the  dead  ?  What  single  rational  excuse 
can  you  present  to  your  minds,  for  the  course  which 


THE    SORROWS    OF    OLD    AGE.  267 

you  thus  pursue  ?  You  are  but  laying  up  a  store  of 
sorrow  for  yourselves ;  provoking  a  God  justly  and 
exceeding  offended,  to  withdraw  himself  from  you. 
You  are  not  postponing  merely,  the  hour  of  your  re- 
turn to  God ;  you  arc  thrusting  it  from  you  forever. 
Do  not  deceive  yourselves  with  any  vain  calculations 
upon  a  future  repentance.  You  will  never  repent 
with  any  repentance  which  shall  be  unto  salvation, 
and  not  to  be  repented  of  Satan  rejoices  over 
every  procrastinating  soul,  under  the  assurance,  that 
he  has  accomplished  his  full  design.  Let  him  persuade 
you  to  abide  in  the  plan  of  becoming  the  servants  of 
God  when  old  age  shall  admonish  you  that  death  is 
near,  and  your  souls  are  lost  forever.  The  door  of 
hope  will  be  closed.  The  Gospel,  long  neglected, 
will  be  neglected  forever.  You  will  go  out  in  dark- 
ness. Evil  days  in  which  you  find  no  pleasure,  will 
be  your  eternal  portion.  Your  name  will  be  covered 
with  darkness,  as  one  of  those  whom  God  has  re- 
jected and  dismissed  into  everlasting  banishment, 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of 
his  power.  May  he  give  you  now  the  wisdom  to  lay 
these  things  truly  and  profitably  to  heart. 


XVIII. 


DISAPPOINTED    PROCRASTINATION. 


Genesis  xi.  32. — The  days  of  Terah  were  two  hundred  and  Jive  years, 
and  Terah  died  in  Haran. 


Some  may  be  ready  to  ask,  of  what  practical  use,  is 
this  fact  to  us  ?  An  attention  to  the  circumstances  of 
history  which  are  connected  with  it,  will  show  the 
purpose  of  illustration  for  which  I  design  to  employ 
it,  and  the  interest  which  my  hearers  have  in  the  ad- 
monition which  it  gives. 

Terah  was  the  father  of  Abraham.  He  dwelt  in 
Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  east  of  the  river  Euphrates. 
There,  he  was  with  his  whole  family  in  a  state  of  idol- 
atry, "serving  other  gods,"  and  ignorant  and  careless 
of  the  great  Being  whom  they  were  bound  to  worship. 
While  in  this  condition  of  spiritual  darkness,  "  on  the 
other  side  of  the  flood,"  as  the  great  river  Euphrates 
was  called,  God  commanded  him  to  arise,  and  to  go  with 
his  family  to  the  land  of  Canaan,  which  from  that  time, 
became  the  land  of  promise,  the  appointed  possession 
of  the  children  of  Abraham.  "  God  said  unto  Abram, 
get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  and  from  thy  kindred,  and 

268 


DISAPPOINTED    PROCRASTINATION.  269 

from  thy  father's  house,  to  a  land  that  I  will  shew 
thee."  **  And  Terah  took  Abram  his  son,  and  Lot, 
the  son  of  Haran,  his  son's  son,  and  Sarai  his  daugh- 
ter-in-law, his  son  Abram' s  wife  ;  and  they  went  forth 
with  them  from  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  to  go  into  the  land 
of  Canaan ;  and  they  came  unto  Haran,  and  dwelt 
there."  Haran  was  on  the  midway  of  their  commanded 
journey.  How  long  Terah  lived  here,  we  cannot  tell. 
But  either  he  could  not,  or  he  would  not,  go  farther 
on  towards  the  land  which  God  had  promised  to  his 
posterity.  Abram,  after  waiting  for  his  father,  it  would 
appear  for  some  years,  took  Sarai  and  Lot,  and  went 
on  to  the  land  of  his  promised  inheritance  in  obedience 
to  the  divine  command,  and  left  Terah  the  old  man  his 
father,  in  Haran,  and  there  he  died.  Terah  did  not 
however,  die  immediately.  He  lived  at  least  sixt}' 
years  after  he  had  seen  his  son  thus  go  forward  in 
obedience  to  God,  being  but  one  hundred  and  forty- 
five  years  old,  when  Abram  left  him.  He  had  there- 
fore abundant  time  to  follow  his  son  in  the  path  of  ap- 
pointed duty.  Yet  after  all,  "  Terah  died  in  Ha- 
ran." 

At  the  late  period  of  life  in  which  he  was  induced  to 
obey  the  divine  command,  and  to  leave  his  native  land, 
to  go  in  search  of  the  land  which  the  Lord  had  pro- 
mised to  him  and  to  his  children,  he  found  himself 
unable  to  finish  the  journey  which  he  had  undertaken. 
He  stopped  in  the  middle  of  his  appointed  course. 
And  here,  though  the  command  to  arise  and  go,  was 
again  repeated  to  him  from  God,  here,  he  remained 
for  the  residue  of  his  days.  While  still  in  the  land  of 
idolators  and  darkness,  he  gave  up  his  spirit,  to  be 
judged  for  his  disobedient  procrastination;  and  left 
z2 


270  DISAPPOINTED    PROCRASTINATION. 

his  children  to  take  possession  without  him,  of  the  good 
land  which  God  had  promised  them. 

The  simple  fact,  "  Terah  died  in  Haran,"  when 
viewed  in  this  connexion,  stands  in  the  Scriptures  as  a 
monument,  like  the  pillar  of  salt  which  uttered  its 
warning  to  every  passer  by,  "  remember  Lot's  wife." 
It  exhibits  an  old  man,  after  his  many  years  spent  in 
idolatry  and  ignorance,  attempting  in  a  late  obedience 
to  divine  commands,  to  remove  from  his  native  condi- 
tion and  home,  to  the  land  of  promise  ;  but  wasting  in 
procrastination,  the  time  for  his  journey,  and  indolently 
staying,  upon  the  road,  over  which  he  was  required  to 
pass,  to  gain  the  end  placed  before  his  view ;  and  find- 
ing all  his  efforts  and  plans  to  accomplish  his  purpose, 
to  prove  unavailing  for  his  good.  He  never  attained 
the  inheritance  for  which  he  set  out  so  late,  and  which 
he  pursued  so  carelessly.  He  saw  his  child  and  his 
grandchild,  both  go  on  before  him,  to  the  place  of  their 
desire  and  hope;  while  he  was  left,  and  alas,  found 
himself  willing  to  be  left,  to  die  alone,  upon  the  road  to 
that  home,  which  they  were  to  enjoy  without  him.  And 
it  remains  on  record,  as  a  fact  to  warn  procrastinating 
men  in  every  age,  of  the  disappointments  which  they 
are  preparing  for  themselves,  that  Terah,  amidst  all 
the  invitations  and  privileges  which  he  received,  died 
at  last  an  idolator  in  Haran. 

Has  this  fact  then  no  practical  connexion  with  our- 
selves? Does  it  not  exhibit  a  striking  illustration,  of 
the  folly  and  danger,  of  postponing  until  old  age,  our 
own  commanded  journey  to  the  land  of  promise? 
May  I  not  with  much  propriety,  use  it  for  an  occasion, 
and  as  an  instrument,  of  admonition,  warning,  and 
solemn  appeal,  to  all  who  hear  me,  that  they  be  wise  in 


DISAPPOINTED    PROCRASTINATION.  271 

time,  and  harden  not  their  hearts  against  the  voice  of 
the  living  God?  This  is  my  present  design.  May- 
God,  in  great  mercy,  by  his  own  Spirit,  make  it  effect- 
ual and  useful ! 

I.  Let  us  consider  the  work  which  God  requires 
sinful  man  to  undertake.  The  call  of  Abraham  from 
his  country  and  home,  is  frequently  employed,  to  illus- 
trate the  great  duty  which  is  required  of  every  sinful 
man.  Like  him,  every  one  is  commanded  in  the  Gos- 
pel, to  attain  and  exercise  a  simple  controlling  faith  in 
the  divine  promises ;  to  follow  in  this  spirit  of  faith, 
the  peculiar  commands  of  God  the  Saviour ;  to  go  out 
in  its  reliance  upon  him,  from  a  state  of  selfishness  and 
idolatry,  man's  natural  condition,  to  seek  the  better 
and  heavenly  country  which  is  revealed  in  the  Gospel, 
and  offered  in  Christ  Jesus,  to  every  believing  soul. 
The  obedience  of  Abraham,  in  going  out,  not  knowing 
whither  he  went,  simply  counting  him  faithful  who  had 
promised,  and  counting  every  thing  else,  as  loss  for  his 
sake,  exhibits  just  the  duty,  which  the  Saviour  requires 
of  all,  to  whom  he  gives  the  invitations  of  his  word ; 
and  just  the  duty  which  multitudes  like  Terah,  post- 
pone, until  it  is  too  late  to  finish  the  work  which  is 
involved  in  it.  Abraham's  journey  and  the  whole  of 
his  history,  display  the  spiritual  journey  of  the  believ- 
ing man,  through  the  difficulties  and  obstacles  of  life, 
to  a  kingdom  and  home  of  everlasting  glory.  They 
show  faith,  triumphing  in  contests,  hoping  against  hope, 
not  staggering  in  weakness,  but  strong  in  giving  glory 
to  God,  ultimately  crowned  with  the  full  attainment 
of  all  that  it  had  looked  for,  and  finding  its  possession 
an  unspeakable  reward. 

Such  an  exercise  of  faith  developing  itself  in  full  and 


212  DISAPPOINTED    PHOCRASTINATION. 

permanent  obedience  to  the  divine  commands,  is  the 
work  which  God  requires  of  all  who  hear  the  Gospel. 
The  sinner  in  the  idolatry  and  unbelief  of  his  natural 
condition,  is  called  upon  by  the  word  and  Spirit  of 
God,  to  arise,  and  get  him  out  of  this  state,  this  land 
of  enemies,  to  a  better  one,  which  God  will  show  him. 
But  when  is  this  great  work  to  be  undertaken  ?  When 
shall  man  begin  to  subdue  his  rebellious  heart  into  re- 
conciliation to  the  will  of  God  ?  May  he  select  his 
own  time  for  the  work  ?  May  he  make  every  thing, 
or  any  tiling  else,  of  prior  importance  ?  May  he  de- 
fine for  himself,  what  will  be  the  most  convenient 
season,  the  most  acceptable  time  for  this  purpose  ? 

Surely  not.  The  Scriptures  never  intimate  a  mo- 
ment beyond  the  time  in  v/hich  the  command  is  ac- 
tually given,  as  the  time  for  man's  obedience.  The 
morrow  is  not  given  to  man.  "  Now,"  "  to-day,"  are 
the  divine  designations  of  the  proper  time  for  man's 
submission.  Whenever  God  speaks,  it  is  that  his  will 
may  be  done  at  once.  In  the  earliest  youth  of  man, 
the  divine  appeals  sound  upon  his  conscience  and 
heart ;  impress  solemn  convictions  of  duty  to  God,  and 
responsibility  before  him,  upon  the  mind ;  and  compel 
the  sinner  in  the  very  morning  of  his  rebellion,  to  re- 
flect upon  the  wages  which  must  be  paid  to  his  trans- 
gression, when  the  day  has  closed.  If  these  appeals 
are  then  heard,  and  immediately  obeyed  ;  if  the  youth 
determine  at  once,  to  arise  from  his  idolatry,  to  flee 
from  his  sins,  and  to  return  to  the  service  and  favour 
of  God,  for  his  shelter  and  delight,  he  is  made  secure 
forever.  The  journey  upon  which  he  enters,  God  will 
prosper.  The  Holy  Spirit  will  lead  him  on,  to  a  full 
enjoyment  of  the  favour,  and  obedience  of  the  com- 


DISAPPOINTED    PROCRASTINATION.  273 

mands  of  God.  He  will  find  the  ways  of  religion,  to 
be  ways  of  pleasantness.  Its  paths  will  minister  peace 
to  his  soul.  The  promised  land  in  all  its  glory  shall 
be  his.  And  he  will  never  look  upon  the  land  from 
which  he  was  taken,  but  with  unfeigned  gratitude,  that 
God  was  pleased  in  such  mercy,  to  rescue  him  from 
its  darkness,  danger,  and  condemnation.  They  that  thus 
seek  God  early,  shall  find  him,  and  shall  find  with 
him,  assurance  and  peace  forever. 

This  return  of  the  soul  from  sin  to  God,  for  which 
a  new  and  living  way  has  been  opened  in  the  death 
and  power  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  is  the  great  work  for 
which  life  is  prolonged,  and  which  man  is  required  to 
complete  in  life,  and  is  made  able  to  complete,  if  he 
truly  and  early  undertake  it.  But  if  (he  convictions 
of  danger  and  duty,  which  are  in  youth  impressed 
upon  the  mind,  are  made  ineffectual,  and  man  is  not 
persuaded  then  to  enter  upon  this  work,  most  gene- 
rally he  finds  no  period  arrive  in  mature  or  aged  life, 
when  the  conscience  and  the  heart  are  willing  to  yield 
to  God,  or  when  the  mind  has  time  to  think  with 
sufficient  care  and  interest,  of  the  peace  and  pros- 
perity of  the  soul.  He  who  rejects  and  disobeys  the 
commands  of  God  in  his  youth,  is  exceedingly  un- 
likely to  find  the  opportunity,  or  the  disposition  to 
obey  in  his  subsequent  years. 

II.  Let  us  consider  the  course  which  men  generally 
pursue  in  reference  to  this  important  matter.  Do 
they,  or  do  they  not,  generally  obey  at  once?  Do 
they,  with  Abraham,  arise  and  go  ?  or  do  they  more 
commonly  with  Terah,  procrastinate  the  enterprise 
until  it  is  too  late  to  accomplish  it  at  all  ?  The  Scrip- 
tures teach  nothing  more  plainly  than  God's  gracious 

35 


274  DISAPPOINTED    PROCRASTINATION. 

desire,  that  all  men  should  be  saved,  and  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth.  They  assure  us,  of  the  efforts 
of  the  divine  Spirit  w^ithin  the  heart  of  man,  from  the 
earliest  period  of  his  youth,  to  bring  him  into  a  cordial 
submission  of  himself  to  God.  I  presume  to  say, 
that  the  instance  cannot  be  found,  of  one  to  whom  the 
Holy  Spirit  has  never  showed  the  guiltiness  of  his 
character ;  who  has  never  had  his  conscience  awaken- 
ed to  feel  and  to  acknowledge  to  himself  at  least,  the 
solemn  truth,  that  he  was  a  sinner  against  God ;  and 
who  has,  therefore,  never  been  convinced  of  the  ne- 
cessity of  going  out  from  his  own  condition  of  selfish- 
ness and  sin,  to  gain  a  refuge  from  condemnation,  in 
the  land  and  city  of  God. 

Before  we  arrive  at  mature  life,  there  have  been 
very  distinct  views  of  duty  impressed  upon  our  minds 
under  the  religious  instructions  of  the  pulpit  or  the 
fireside,  under  the  occasional  reading  of  the  Scrip- 
tures for  ourselves,  or  under  the  varied  dispensations 
of  divine  Providence,  which  place  us  entirely  beyond 
excuse,  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  in  our  own  con- 
science, in  going  forward  in  the  ways  of  sin,  or  re- 
maining in  our  natural  condition  of  alienation  from 
God.  Amidst  all  these  varied  privileges  and  mercies, 
the  great  questions,  who  shall  reign  over  us  ?  whom 
shall  we  serve  ?  are  to  be  determined.  And  they  are 
habitually  determined  in  the  morning  of  life.  Men 
are  reaping  subsequently,  as  they  have  sown  then. 
Some  few  accept  with  gratitude  the  blessed  invita- 
tions of  the  Saviour,  and  unite  themselves  unto  him, 
in  a  perpetual  covenant,  never  to  be  forgotten.  But 
what  is  the  course  pursued  by  the  great  majority  of 
mankind?     Do  they  not  altogether  drive  away  the 


DISAPPOINTED    PROCRASTINATION.  275 

convictions  of  this  early  period?  They  refuse  to 
yield  their  hearts  and  characters,  to  be  thus  subjected 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the  service  of  God.  They 
bargain  with  their  consciences,  in  order  to  silence 
their  awakened  demands,  that  at  some  future  period, 
they  will  attend  to  the  duty  required  of  them.  They 
overwhelm  and  destroy  the  calls  of  God  in  their 
hearts,  by  rushing  into  worldly  follies,  vain  society, 
and  giddy,  frivolous  recreation.  They  not  only  turn 
a  deaf  ear  to  his  voice,  but  they  immerse  themselves 
in  distracting  noise  around,  raising  up  a  multitude  of 
voices,  that  they  may  not  be  compelled  to  hear  him. 
They  often  try  to  argue  themselves  into  comfort  and 
security,  by  building  up  a  system  of  self-righteousness 
which  shall  be  sufficient  for  their  wants.  Amidst  the 
heedlessness  of  youth,  and  the  occupations  of  matu- 
rity, they  can  manage  very  much  to  forget  the  pre- 
cious interests  of  their  souls.  And  thus  they  allow 
their  time  and  opportunities  to  pass  silently  away,  all 
vacant  and  empty,  in  reference  to  any  thing  done  for 
their  soul's  good.  This  is  the  course  of  multitudes, 
who  find  at  last  with  astonishment,  that  age,  and 
disease,  and  death,  have  come  upon  them,  while  no 
step  has  been  taken  towards  the  heavenly  land  to 
which  God  has  so  long  invited  them,  and  which  he 
has  been  so  willing  to  bestow  upon  them. 

In  these  cases,  there  is  not,  perhaps,  a  positive  de- 
nial of  the  authority  which  calls  them,  or  an  actual 
refusal  to  acknowledge  and  submit  to  it.  The  plea 
of  some  better  time  to  come,  is  the  prevailing  and 
sufficient  one.  None  seriously  design  to  throw  away 
all  regard  to  their  eternal  interests  forever.  On  the 
contrary,  they  hope,  and  they  believe,  that  the  time 


216  DISAPPOINTED    PROCRASTINATION. 

will  certainly  come,  when  they  shall  find  themselves 
to  be  so  strongly  drawn  to  an  obedience  to  God,  that 
they  shall  have  no  disposition  to  resist  the  divine 
control.  They  are  far  from  wishing,  or  expecting  to 
end  their  days  in  any  other  condition,  than  in  the 
favour  of  God,  and  in  the  assurance  of  a  participa- 
tion of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light.  They 
always  trust,  however  indefinitely  and  without  reason, 
that  it  will  in  some  way  be  well  for  them  in  the  end. 
But  the  one  single  demand  for  an  actual,  manifest, 
positive,  immediate  return  to  God ;  the  act  of  per- 
sonal, voluntary  reconciliation  to  him;  the  certain 
setting  out  upon  a  new  and  living  way,  so  that  they 
can  say,  *'  whereas  I  was  blind,  now  I  see ;"  this, 
though  the  work  of  a  moment,  a  point  of  time  in 
their  lives,  they  are  constantly  postponing  to  some 
future  period.  Thus  most  frequently,  they  live  and 
die  in  their  chosen  idolatry  and  guilt ;  always  hearing 
the  command,  "  arise  and  go,"  and  always  determin- 
mg  that  they  will  obey  it ;  but  never  putting  their  re- 
solution into  effect.  Like  Terah,  they  die  in  Haran ; 
they  perish  amidst  unfulfilled  vows  and  attempts  of 
obedience  to  God,  and  under  the  guilt  and  burden  of 
actual  rebellion  against  him. 

III.  Let  us  trace  the  usual  result  of  this  course 
of  procrastination.  It  will  be  but  tracing  the  history 
and  experience  of  the  great  proportion  of  mankind. 
Twenty  years  of  the  sinner's  life  go  by.  They  are 
the  most  important,  and  in  most  cases,  the  deciding 
period  of  his  existence,  in  reference  to  his  eternal 
welfare.  But  their  close  finds  him  still  unrenewed  in 
his  character,  and  hardening  his  mind  and  conscience 
against  the  power  of  the  truth.     He  is  just  so  much 


DISAPPOINTED    PROCRASTINATION.  277 

farther  from  God,  and  from  hope,  by  all  the  years 
which  have  passed  thus  unimproved.  He  is  still  in 
the  region  of  darkness,  and  of  the  shadow  of  death. 
During  this  period,  he  has  had  the  question  of  per- 
sonal piety  repeatedly  before  him,  and  the  influences 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  repeatedly  contending  with  him. 
But  he  has  thus  far,  succeeded  in  keeping  the  strong 
man  of  selfishness  and  unbelief  armed,  and  in  posses- 
sion of  his  house.  He  is  at  twenty  years  of  age,  still 
in  his  sins,  and  still  an  unconverted  man.  In  the 
wonderful  forbearance  of  God,  twenty  years  more  are 
added  to  these,  all  of  them  crowned  with  privileges, 
and  with  invitations  to  a  better  land.  But  the  linger- 
ing sinner  still  refuses  to  arise  and  go.  By  this  time, 
he  has  seen  and  felt  much  of  the  folly  of  things  tem- 
poral, and  of  the  emptiness  of  the  heart  which  de- 
pends upon  them.  But  he  is  hardened  through  the 
deceitfulness  of  sin ;  and  he  is  unwilling  to  make  the 
decided  and  violent  rupture  which  seems  necessary  if 
he  would  now  effect  his  escape  from  an  impending 
ruin.  With  more  light  in  his  conscience,  he  has  more 
dulness  and  obduracy  in  his  affections ;  and  the  work 
of  true  piety  grows  more  and  more  difficult.  If 
twenty  years  more  bring  him  to  the  verge  of  feeble- 
ness and  death,  he  is  still  found  more  deeply  anxious 
to  obtain  the  hope  which  he  does  not  possess,  and 
which  he  finds  it  more  and  more  impossible  to  get. 
By  this  time,  he  is  mourning  over  nearly  all  his  joys 
as  departed  forever.  Almost  every  monument  of  his 
life  seems  to  be  a  tomb.  "  Here  lie  the  remains,"  is 
the  inscription  which  he  reads  upon  pleasures,  and 
possessions,  and  hopes  which  are  gone. 

This  whole  period  of  life  has  been  a  succession  of 
2  A 


218  DISAPPOINTED    PROCRASTINATION. 

disappointments  of  all  his  calculations,  in  reference  to 
his  own  state  of  mind  and  character.  Maturity  when 
it  arrived,  was  very  different  from  the  pictures  of  it, 
which  were  seen  in  youth.  It  did  not  bring  that 
coolness  of  judgment,  that  weariness  of  earthly  plea- 
sures, and  that  disposition  for  serious  pursuits,  which 
were  so  confidently  expected  to  be  found  as  its  cha- 
racteristics. If  it  had  not  the  obstacles  of  youth,  it 
was  found  to  have  greater  ones  of  its  own.  The  Re- 
deemer, whose  invitations  were  answered  by  procras- 
tination before,  was  found  to  be  with  still  more  ease, 
and  apparently  with  more  reason,  put  off  with  pro- 
mises for  the  future,  then.  And  now,  old  age  is  looked 
for  to  effect  that,  which  youth  and  maturity  have  failed 
to  accomplish.  But  here  another  disappointment 
comes.  Old  age  also  is  very  different  in  its  character, 
from  its  anticipated  appearance.  Man  then  awakes 
to  the  sorrowful  conviction,  that  he  has  been  deluded 
through  the  whole  of  his  course  in  life.  He  sees 
nothing  of  that  spontaneous  preparation  for  eternity, 
which  he  hoped  to  find  in  the  later  years  of  life.  It 
is  now  harder,  vastly  harder,  than  it  has  ever  been 
before,  to  lay  hold  of  any  adequate  and  abiding  hope 
for  a  world  to  come.  Lingering  Terah  sits  down  to 
measure  up,  in  the  sad  calculation  of  his  own  expe- 
rience, the  folly  by  which  he  has  been  so  long  de- 
ceived. The  love  of  the  world  and  the  pride  of  self 
have  grown  upon  his  heart.  Their  roots  have  woven 
a  complete,  and  an  inextricable  web,  around  his  affec- 
tions and  purposes.  The  Saviour  who  seemed  to  be 
so  near  to  him  in  his  youth,  that  he  might  be  embraced 
in  any  moment,  now  stands  in  the  distance,  almost 
unperceived,  apparently  entirely  beyond   his   reach. 


DISAPPOINTED    PROCRASTINATION.  279 

The  line  which  then  separated  him  from  the  salvation 
of  the  Gospel,  has  now  widened  to  a  gulph  which 
cannot  be  passed.  And  hope  seems  to  have  gone 
finally  down,  behind  the  mountains  of  darkness  which 
rise  before  him. 

IV.  What  now  becomes  the  result  of  this  procrasti- 
nation ?  Generally  one  of  two  things.  Either  total, 
hardened,  self-defending  negligence ;  or  a  partial,  con- 
strained, and  unsatisfying  attention  to  the  duties  of 
religion.  That  is,  Terali  either  positively  refuses  to 
obey  the  divine  command,  and  remains  to  die  as  he  has 
lived,  in  Ghaldea  ;  or  else,  he  unwillingly  sets  out  un- 
der the  lashes  of  an  awakened  conscience,  and  goes  as 
far  as  Haran,  and  dies  there,  in  a  new  condition  in- 
deed, but  with  the  same  character. 

Some,  as  the  result  of  this  procrastination,  finding 
every  thing  in  their  own  state  of  mind,  and  in  their 
facilities  for  reconciliation  to  God,  so  very  different 
from  their  expectations,  give  up  all  hope  of  change,  and 
resolve  to  die  as  they  have  lived.  They  try  to  work 
up  a  confidence  which  they  do  not  feel,  and  to  per- 
suade themselves  of  a  security,  for  which  they  have 
really  no  hope.  They  affect  an  indifference  which 
they  are  far  enough  from  possessing,  and  attempt  to 
acquire  an  insensibility  which  is  still  very  remote  from 
them.  They  will  not  bear  the  kindest  language  of 
admonition,  or  exhortation,  or  warning.  They  are 
determined  not  to  be  disturbed.  They  do  not  feel 
themselves  in  the  right.  They  know  just  the  difficulty 
which  is  before  them.  Their  consciences  are  as 
thoroughly  convinced  of  the  character,  and  of  the  jus- 
tice, of  the  claims  of  piety,  as  they  ever  were.  But 
they  have  resolved  not  to  attempt  a  work  which  has 


280  DISAPPOINTED    PROCRASTINATION. 

now  been  so  long  postponed.  And  the  result  of  their 
long-conthiued  procrastination  is,  that  they  go  down 
into  the  grave,  self-condemned,  and  without  hope,  and 
vainly  trying  to  conceal  the  consciousness  of  the  fact, 
from  the  view  of  others  around  them.  They  have  seen 
thousands  go  on  to  the  land  of  promise,  a  blessed 
home,  to  which  they  have  been  invited  from  their  very 
childliood,  and  they  remain  still  to  die  in  the  darkness 
of  Chaldea  at  the  last. 

Others  cannot  bear  the  irritations  of  an  awakened 
conscience,  or  the  sense  of  want  and  danger  which 
presses  upon  them,  and  they  therefore  urge  themselves 
to  do  something  to  fill  up  deficiences  which  are  so 
plainly  and  painfully  perceived;  and  to  satisfy  an 
eagerness,  whose  corrodings  cannot  be  repressed.  They 
put  upon  themselves,  some  kind  of  religious  profes- 
sion. They  give  their  time  and  countenance  to  some 
degree  of  religious  duty.  They  devote  a  portion  of 
their  property  to  some  benevolent  or  religious  object. 
All  this  is  easily  done.  It  is" done  without  any  change 
in  the  heart  and  principles  of  the  man.  And  many 
who  have  passed  their  life  in  a  protracted  neglect  of 
true  religion,  are  found  at  the  last,  attempting  in  this 
way,  to  do  some  good  thing  to  obtain  eternal  life 
Unwilling  to  remain  absolutely  disobedient  to  God's 
command  in  Chaldea,  they  go  forward  on  the  road  to 
safety,  as  far  as  Haran ;  they  settle  down  in  a  form 
of  godliness,  without  the  power  thereof;  or  in  the  ap- 
probation of  religion,  without  experiencing  it;  and 
thus  sink  into  the  grave,  with  as  little  hope  or  comfort, 
as  if  they  had  not  moved  a  step,  from  the  condition  in 
which  they  were  found  at  first.  They  worship  God 
because  they  are  afraid  to  refuse  it.     They  offer  him 


DISAPPOINTED    PROCRASTINATION.  281 

an  unwilling,  heartless  service.  They  are  drawn  to- 
wards him  by  no  desire  but  to  escape  his  wrath.  They 
are  driven  forward  in  all  they  undertake,  by  the  resist- 
less impression,  that  they  shall  perish  if  they  do  not  do 
some  thing,  and  by  the  selfish  wish  to  do  no  more,  thsm 
shall  be  absolutely  necessary  for  their  escape  from 
woe.  Though  they  go  on  to  Haran,  they  remain  the 
same  disobedient  servants  towards  God  ;  and  they  are 
as  certainly  rejected  by  him,  who  has  announced  to 
them  in  a  great  variety  of  forms,  his  solemn  determi- 
nation, to  have  all,  or  to  take  nothing. 

In  one  of  these  shapes,  you  will  find  the  result  of 
procrastination  in  religion.  It  leads  men  certainly  for- 
ward, to  a  miserable  grave,  a  departure  from  the  world, 
without  pardon,  or  holiness,  or  hope.  Has  this  sub- 
ject no  connexion  with  ourselves  ?  Is  it  of  no  interest 
to  those  Avho  hear  me  ?  It  warns  you,  my  beloved 
friends,  that  God  tlie  Saviour,  must  have  your  all,  and 
be  your  all.  You  are  not  only  to  arise  and  go ;  but 
you  must  go  to  the  land  which  he  will  show  you. 
Your  hearts,  the  fountains  of  life,  must  be  his.  Your 
choice  must  be  upon  him,  as  the  Being  whom  you  will 
serve.  Nothing  short  of  a  full  conversion,  an  entire 
new  birth,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  will  answer  your  wants 
at  any  time.  Christ  dwells  in  no  heart  but  where  all 
things  are  made  new.  And  without  him,  ye  are  no- 
thing. It  warns  you  also,  to  gain  this  blessing  now. 
Go  with  youthful  Abram,  or  yet  more  youthful  Lot, 
directly  from  Chaldea  to  Canaan.  Stop  not  upon  the 
road  for  any  temptation.  Stay  for  no  future  period 
of  life.  In  the  Spirit  and  power  of  God,  which  wait 
for  you,  arise  and  embark  with  Jesus.  Enlist  under 
his  banner ;  follow  in  his  steps ;  and  remember  always, 
2  A  2  36 


2S2  DISAPPOINTED    PROCRASTINATION. 

that  safety  is  in  being  safe,  and  not  in  expecting  to  be 
safe ;  in  actually  yielding  the  heart  to  the  Saviour's 
will,  and  not  in  hoping  to  do  it,  or  in  determining  to 
do  it,  in  some  future  hour  which  may  never  arrive,  and 
which  if  it  does  arrive ;  will  bring  with  it,  its  own  por- 
tion of  sorrows,  and  cares.  Awake  thou  that  sleepest, 
and  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall  give  thee 
light.  Now  is  your  accepted  time;  to-day  is  your 
day  of  salvation 


XIX. 


INEFFECTIVE    REPENTANCE. 


1  Kings  ii.  28. — And  Joab  jle.d  unto  the  taher7iacle  of  (he  Lord,  and 
caught  hold  on  the  horns  of  the  altar. 

The  holy  Scriptures  teach  truth  to  man,  not  only 
by  abstract  precepts  and  instructions,  but  by  living 
and  impressive  examples.  They  are  for  man  a  guide- 
book, as  well  as  a  history.  They  proclaim  the  prin- 
ciples by  which  he  ought  to  be  governed,  and  accord- 
ing to  which  he  is  to  meet  his  final  responsibility  to 
God  ;  and  they  exhibit  in  every  variety  of  shape,  the 
actual  use  or  neglect  of  these  principles,  in  the  con- 
duct of  different  individuals.  In  these  important  illus- 
trations, they  hold  up  virtue  and  excellence  triumph- 
ing in  multiplied  conflicts ;  and  iniquity  however  pros- 
pered and  specious  for  a  time,  ultimately  meeting  its 
just  and  full  reward.  There  is  hardly  an  application 
of  abstract  principles  of  duty  to  the  conduct  and  cir- 
cumstances of  man  possible,  of  which  there  is  not 
some  full  and  remarkable  illustration  in  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  in  the  character  and  history  of  some  indi- 
vidual man.     And  a  consideration  of  the  principle  as 

283 


284  INEFFECTIVE   REPENTANCE. 

it  is  developed  and  operating  in  the  history,  becomes 
far  more  impressive  and  effectual,  than  a  contempla- 
tion of  itself  abstractedly  could  ever  be. 

Under  this  view  it  is  wise  in  the  preacher  to  select 
as  a  frequent  subject  for  discourse,  the  actual  examples 
which  the  Scriptures  give,  of  the  operation  of  the  in- 
structions which  he  wishes  to  enforce.  With  this  in- 
tent, I  would  present  to  you,  the  history  of  Joab,  as 
an  illustration  of  the  invalidity  of  a  voluntarily  late 
repentance ;  of  the  presumption  of  looking  forward 
to  the  hour  of  death,  as  a  time  in  which  to  call  foi 
protection  and  hope  from  him,  to  whom  we  have 
refused  to  yield  obedience  in  life.  Many  of  you  are 
familiar  with  the  incidents  of  Joab's  history  He 
was  in  many  respects  a  great  and  remarkable  man. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  valiant  and  powerful  men  of 
his  time.  He  performed  important  services  for  the 
king,  to  whom  he  was  nearly  related  in  blood,  and 
he  was  faithful  to  his  interests.  He  was  made  the 
general  of  David's  armies  upon  the  occasion  of  his 
conquest  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  when  he  displayed 
peculiar  bravery,  and  he  continued  in  this  important 
post  for  more  than  thirty  years.  He  was,  therefore, 
an  elevated,  honoured,  and  prosperous  man ;  one  even 
too  important  for  the  just  authority  of  the  king.  He 
had  gained  in  earthly  station,  and  in  the  wealth  of  this 
world,  all  that  the  ambition  of  a  subject  could  ask; 
second  to  none  but  his  monarch,  and  even  rivalling 
him  in  influence  and  power.  All  he  could  imagine  of 
human  greatness,  was  in  his  possession. 

He  liad  also  passed  his  life  amidst  all  the  privileges 
of  religion.  Although  he  was  a  man  of  war,  he  had  all 
the  advantages  and  opportunities  which  David  himself 


INEFFECTIVE    llEPENTANCE.  285 

had,  to  gain  and  to  cultivate  the  principles  of  truth  and 
holiness.  The  worship  of  the  sanctuary  of  Jehovah 
with  all  the  blessings  which  it  conferred,  were  freely 
his ;  and  he  might,  and  he  ought  to  have  laid  hold  on 
the  hope  of  Israel,  and  to  have  had  his  hoary  head 
found  in  the  way  of  righteousness ;  and  thus  to  have 
been  in  his  old  age,  as  much  honoured  for  his  piety  as 
he  was  for  his  station. 

But  Joab  passed  a  proud  and  prosperous  life,  with- 
out submitting  himself  to  the  authority,  or  seeking  the 
favour  of  God.  He  was  a  cruel,  revengeful,  and  im- 
perious man.  He  suffered  his  own  vindictive  spirit  to 
imbrue  his  hands  in  causeless  blood.  The  will  of  his 
Creator  kept  him  not  back,  even  from  revenge  and 
murder;  and  he  was  too  elevated  in  life  to  be  re- 
strained by  inferior  circumstances.  He  could  carry 
out  the  purposes  of  his  wicked  heart,  without  fear  of 
consequences  from  man ;  and  no  sense  of  responsi- 
bility to  God  was  present  in  his  mind,  to  keep  him 
back,  from  the  extreme  of  evil.  In  his  long  and  pros- 
pered life,  he  might  have  been  the  instrument  of  vast 
blessings  to  others.  But  the  man  who  lives  without 
God  cannot  live  as  a  blessing  to  his  fellow-men.  The 
blessing  of  God  is  not  with  any  thing  that  he  does. 

But  now  Joab  comes  to  old  age,  and  his  character 
remains  entirely  unchanged.  He  engages  with  Ado- 
nijah  in  his  unnatural  rebellion  against  the  aged  king, 
to  whose  cause  he  had  been  so  faithful  while  the 
power  was  witli  him,  and  thus  prepares  himself  for 
the  punishment  which  must  in  justice  overtake  him. 
David  delivers  him  over  to  Solomon  his  son,  with  the 
injunction,  "thou  knowest  what  Joab  did  to  me,  how 
he  shed  the  blood  of  war  in  peace ;  do  thou,  there- 


^86  INEFFECTIVE    REPENTANCE. 

fore,  according  to  thy  wisdom,  and  let  not  his  hoar 
head  go  down  to  the  grave  in  peace."  And  when  the 
intelhgence  came  to  Joab,  that  Adonijah  was  put  to 
death,  and  Abiathar  the  priest  was  banished,  his  guilty 
conscience  warned  him  of  his  exposure  to  similar  con- 
demnation. He  fled  to  Gibeon,  and  concealed  him- 
self for  protection  in  the  tabernacle  of  the  Lord,  and 
caught  hold  on  the  horns  of  the  altar.  Foolish  man ! 
If  he  had  accustomed  himself  to  seek  for  counsel  at 
this  tabernacle  in  previous  life,  he  would  not  now  have 
needed  to  fly  to  it  for  such  protection.  But  the  worst 
of  men  are  glad  to  make  use  of  God's  ordinances  for 
their  own  selfish  advantage.  Necessity  will  drive  the 
most  profane  in  a  hypocritical  profession  to  God. 

But  there  was  no  protection  for  impenitent  guilt 
at  the  altar.  The  divine  law  was,  in  regard  to 
the  murderer,  "  thou  shalt  take  him  even  from 
mine  altar,  that  he  may  die."  And  Joab,  the  aged 
rebel,  perishes  in  guilt,  even  while  he  clings  to  the 
altar  for  protection.  His  flying  there,  driven  by  fear, 
when  all  other  refuge  had  failed,  and  destruction  was 
rapidly  coming  upon  iniquity  as  its  recompense,  fur- 
nished him  no  deliverance.  No  desire  for  God  led 
him  to  the  tabernacle.  A  fear  of  punishment  drove 
him  thither.  He  had  no  longing  to  be  a  doorkeeper 
in  the  house  of  the  Lord.  He  would  far  rather 
dwell  in  the  tents  of  ungodliness.  And  this  fear- 
extorted  cry  for  mercy,  in  the  hour  of  his  sorrow, 
upon  him  whom  he  had  despised,  and  whose  law  he 
had  trodden  under  his  feet,  could  furnish  no  expiation 
for  his  guilt,  and  no  hope  for  his  soul.  Joab  was  not 
a  penitent,  though  he  clung  to  the  altar.  His  soul 
could  not  go  out  in  peace,  though  he  expired  in  the 


INEFFECTIVE    REPENTANCE.  281 

tabernacle  of  God.     He  died  amidst  cries  for  mercy, 
and  yet  he  died  without  mercy,  and  without  hope. 

How  very  important  is  the  admonition  which  is 
here  furnished !  What  multitudes,  like  Joab,  attempt 
to  compensate  for  a  life  of  sin,  by  an  ineffectual  at- 
tempt to  return  to  God  in  the  hour  of  death,  and  en- 
courage themselves  to  hope,  that  their  wicked  and 
persevering  neglect  of  him  will  be  wholly  forgotten, 
if  they  ask  his  forgiveness,  when  they  can  rebel  no 
longer !  This  is  the  whole  consolation  and  hope  of 
an  immense  portion  of  mankind.  The  only  answer 
which  they  make  to  the  invitations  of  the  Gospel,  is, 
that  though  they  acknowledge  their  importance,  they 
are  not  yet  prepared  to  attend  to  them ;  but  they 
promise  adequate  consideration  of  them,  when  the 
more  pressing  business  of  their  lives  shall  pass  by. 
Their  hearts  are  in  the  world,  and  they  will  live  to 
that.  But  their  future,  everlasting  safety,  can  only 
be  with  God,  and  they  will  still  endeavour  to  die  in 
peace  with  him.  According  to  this  vain  and  wicked 
plan,  they  refuse  subjection  to  the  Lord  of  all,  during 
the  period  in  which  they  can  in  any  manner  honour 
him,  and  prom.ise  to  bring  the  lame,  and  the  blind,  and 
the  torn,  and  the  sick,  as  an  offering  upon  his  alti.r  at 
the  last.  How  solemnly  God  says  to  such,  "cursed  be 
the  deceiver,  that  hath  in  his  flock  a  male,  and  voweth 
and  sacrificeth  unto  the  Lord,  a  corrupt  thing;  for  I 
am  a  great  king,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  my 
name  is  dreadful  among  the  heathen !"  The  Scrip- 
tures warn  men  very  distinctly  of  their  total  want  of 
hope  and  comfort  in  prospect,  while  they  live  in  the 
midst  of  the  privileges  of  the  Gospel,  in  neglect  of 
God,   and  design  to  embrace  at  last,  the  blessings 


288  INEFFECTIVE    REPENTANCE. 

which  they  have  so  long  voluntarily  rejected.  What 
the  history  of  Joab  illustrates,  the  parable  of  the  ten 
virgins  is  designed  expressly  to  teach  and  enforce ;  and 
many  warnings  of  Almighty  God,  repeat  the  same  tes- 
timony. The  sinful  man  who  is  now  living  to  himself, 
without  God  in  the  world,  and  hoping  ultimately  to 
find  peace  with  God,  in  the  return  of  his  soul  to  him, 
in  sickness,  or  age,  or  death,  is  certainly  deceiving 
himself,  with  a  promise  which  will  be  his  ruin.  Though 
fear  may  drive  him  at  last  to  the  horns  of  the  altar,  no 
protection  will  be  there  afforded  to  him,  from  the  result 
of  his  own  folly  and  guilt. 

This  LATE  AND  INEFFECTIVE  REPENTANCE,  I  propOSe 

to  consider,  as  a  subject  of  important  instruction. 

I.  I  remark  upon  it,  that  such  a  running  at  the  last 
to  the  tabernacle,  will  be  wholly  unavailing  for  any 
good,  because  it  is  entirely  deficient  in  the  proper 
motive  of  obedience.  The  distinguishing  motive  of  an 
acceptable  return  to  God,  is  a  love  for  his  character, 
and  a  desire  for  his  service.  This  must  always  be  the 
principle  which  guides  a  sinner  in  a  true  return  of  his 
soul  to  God.  A  godly  sorrow  for  sin  respects  the 
honour  of  God  which  is  involved  in  transgression.  It 
is  moved,  not  by  a  conviction  of  danger,  and  a  fear  of 
evil,  but  by  a  view  of  the  dishonour  which  iniquity 
brings  to  God,  and  the  ungrateful  neglect  which  it 
displays  of  his  kindness  and  mercy.  It  sees  the  love 
of  Jesus,  and  the  hatefulness  of  the  sin  which  has  re- 
paid it ;  and  turns  back  with  mourning,  for  that  which 
has  crucified  the  Lord  of  glory.  Affliction  and  distress 
as  they  reveal  the  emptiness  of  the  world,  may  indeed 
be  the  occasion  Avhich  arrests  the  attention  of  man, 
and  in  consequence  of  which  he  is  led  by  the  Holy 


INEFFECTIVE    REPENTANCE.  289 

Spirit,  to  proper  views  of  himself,  and  of  God,  and  to 
a  cordial  desire  to  be  made  holy  as  God  is  holy.  But 
when  the  worldly  minded  sinner  calculates  upon  this 
in  his  dying  hours,  he  is  hoping  for  that,  for  which  he 
will  then  have  neither  opportunity  nor  time.  If  he  is 
awakened  at  all  then,  it  will  be  by  fear.  A  solemn 
conviction  of  the  just  wrath  of  God  may  press  upon 
his  mind  ;  and  he  may  be  compelled,  under  its  burden, 
to  ask  forgiveness.  But  he  has  then  no  love  for  God, 
no  wish  to  be  like  him,  no  real  sorrow  for  having  of- 
fended him.  It  would  be  a  welcome  relief  to  his  mind, 
if  he  could  be  convinced,  that  there  is  no  God,  or  that 
if  he  exists,  he  will  not  enter  into  judgment  with  un- 
godly men.  These  conclusions  are  both  impossible. 
And  as  a  cry  for  a  Saviour's  mercy  seems  to  be  the 
only  method  left,  by  which  he  may  escape  the  perdi- 
tion of  his  soul,  he  recurs  to  that.  Let  him  live  again, 
and  he  has  no  love  for  goodness.  Even  now  he  is 
more  averse  to  the  real  character  of  God,  than  he  has 
ever  been.  Heaven  and  holiness  have  no  charms. 
But  hell  has  unutterable  terrors.  He  flies  therefore 
to  the  tabernacle  for  refuge.  But  let  the  wrath  to 
come  be  removed ;  let  the  sword  of  justice  be  with- 
drawn; and  he  would  leave  the  tabernacle  just  as 
quickly.  Such  a  professed  return  to  God  as  this  is 
wholly  useless.  The  door  is  shut ;  and  loud  as  may 
be  the  cry  for  admission,  it  is  uttered  in  vain.  God  is 
a  God  of  love ;  and  he  governs  his  creatures  by  love, 
and  not  by  terror.  When  they  return  to  him,  because 
they  love  him,  and  wish  to  serve  him,  he  welcomes  and 
receives  them.  But  when  they  are  driven  back  to 
him,  because  they  are  afraid  of  him,  although  they 
hate  him,  he  allows  no  such  motive  to  operate  in  his 
2  B  37 


290  INEFFECTIVE    REPENTANCE. 

dominion.  He  will  receive  no  subject  whose  conduct 
says,  "  I  serve  thee  because  I  am  afraid  to  rebel  longer 
against  thee."  Yet  this  is  the  language  of  the  sinner's 
late  repentance,  his  final  apparent  return  to  God. 
Without  penitence,  without  love,  without  desire  for 
God,  he  wishes  for  just  so  much  interest  in  the  religion 
of  the  Gospel,  as  will  save  him  from  approaching  ruin, 
and  no  more.  And  he  clings  to  the  horns  of  the  altar, 
because  he  hopes,  that  he  may  there  escape  destruc- 
tion. But  while  this  motive  is  wholly  unacceptable, 
the  act  to  which  it  leads  is  ecj[ually  vain.  Even  the 
altar  affords  him  no  protection  then. 

II.  I  remark  that  such  an  apparent  return  to  God 
in  our  last  hours,  is  ineffective,  because  it  allows  no 
time  to  accomplish  the  important  work.  I  do  not 
speak  now  of  the  man  who  has  never  heard  the  blessed 
tidings  of  a  Saviour,  until  this  late  hour ;  but  of  the 
man  whose  life  has  been  passed  amidst  the  full  privi- 
leges of  the  Gospel,  and  who  has  no  new  message  to 
be  delivered  to  him  in  the  hour  of  his  death.  Such  an 
one  has  professed  that  he  had  no  time  to  perfect  this 
return  to  God  in  his  life  and  health,  though  he  ac- 
knowledged it  to  be  necessary ;  and  he  will  in  fact, 
have  no  time  to  do  it  in  the  hours  of  sickness,  and 
age,  and  death.  It  is  vain  to  say,  that  God  may  then 
pluck  him  in  a  moment  as  a  brand  from  the  burning. 
So  he  might  have  done  at  any  previous  time  of  his  life. 
But  he  did  not  do  it  then;  and  there  is  not  the 
slightest  ground  for  hope,  that  he  will  do  it  now. 

What  is  an  acceptable  return  to  God  for  sinful 
man  ?  The  point  of  turning  is  a  moment  unquestion- 
ably. Conversion  is  in  this  view  an  indivisible  act. 
But  how  much  there  is  of  knowledge,  and  conviction. 


INEFFECTIVE  REPENTANCE.         291 

and  feeling,  to  precede  it !     And  how  numerous  and 
important,  are  the  duties  which  result  from  it !     Now 
the  dying  man  has  no  time  for  these.     A  real  return 
to  God  is  exhibited  in  the  obedience  which  flows  from 
conversion.     And  it  is  worse  than  vain,  to  found  a 
hope  upon  any  conversion  which  does  not  result  in  such 
obedience.     It  may  be  said,  there  is  a  promise,  that  he 
that  believeth  shall  be  saved.     I  answer  it  does  not 
meet  the  case  which  I  suppose.     What  remains  to  be 
told  to  any  unrenewed  sinner  under  the  blessings  of 
the  Gospel,  in  the  hour  of  his  death,  which  he  did  not 
believe  and  know  before  ?     Will  the  simple  cry  for  a 
Saviour's  mercy  which  results  in  no  obedience,  is  the 
parent  of  no  new  life,  avail  him  now  ?     And  why  will 
it  be  more  availing  then  ?     You  answer  that  there  is  no 
time  then  for  any  thing  else.    This  is  just  my  assertion. 
There  is  no  time  for  anything  then,  which  can  be  effec- 
tive.    There  is  no  time  for  a  real  return  to  God.    And 
whose  fault  is  it,  that  there  is  no  time  ?    Is  it  God's,  who 
has  lengthened  out  the  sinner's  days,  vrith  wonderful 
forbearance  ?  or  is  it  the  sinner's,  who  has  refused  to 
do  the  work  for  which  life  was  given,  until  there  re- 
mains no  time  to  do  it  at  all  ?     If  you  determine  thus 
to  rob  God  of  that  which  he  claims,  it  will  be  useless 
for  you  at  the  last,  to  bring  the  poor  remnant  which  is 
left.      Like  Ananias,  you  keep  back  a  part  of  that 
which  is  demanded,  and  bring  a  portion,  under  the 
false  assertion  that  it  is  all  you  have.     You  may  as 
well  determine  to  keep  the  whole.     You  may  as  safely 
resolve  to  abide  in  your  own  house  unto  the  end,  as  to 
plan  a  running  to  the  tabernacle  when  all  your  many 
days  have  thus  been  numbered  in  guilt.     It  will  then 
be  impossible  to  accomplish  what  you  propose  to  un- 


292  INEFFECTIVE    REPENTANCE. 

dertake,  and  mercy  so  long  despised,  will  have  gone 
from  you  forever. 

III.  I  remark  upon  this  projected  repentance,  that 
it  is  ineffective  for  good,  because  it  is  itself  an  act  of 
rebellion  against  God.     He  has  in  abundant  mercy, 
opened  a  way  for  sinful  men  to  return  to  him  in  peace. 
He  gives  them,  all  the  opportunities,  all  the  means,  and 
all  the  assistance,  which  they  need  in  order  to  perfect 
this  return  to  his  favour,  and  then  solemnly  warns 
them,  that  it  must  be  done  in  a  limited  and  appointed 
time.     He  urges  them  to  strive  to  enter  into  the  nar- 
row gate  which  he  has  opened,  under  the  assurance, 
that  many  will  ultimately  try  to  enter  in,  wdio  shall 
not  be  able.     He  directs  their  notice  to  an  hour,  when 
the  master  of  the  house  will  have  risen  up  and  shut  to 
the  door ;  and  he  declares,  that  then  all  cries  without 
for  entrance,  will  be  in  vain.     He  teaches  us  that  sin- 
ful man  has  no  right  to  mercy,  no  claim  upon  God ; 
and  that  all  which  is  offered  him,  is  upon  God's  own 
terms,  and  in  God's  own  way ;  and  that  unless  he  take 
advantage  of  these  offers  in  an  appointed  time,  he  will 
lose  all  hope  arising  from  them  forever.     But  what 
does  the  man  do,  who  still  looks  for  a  more  convenient 
season  for  his  reconciliation  unto  God,  but  directly 
contradict  and  falsify,  these  positive  assertions  of  the 
God  of  truth  ?     And  of  what  more  positive  act  of  re- 
bellion against  God  can  man  be  guilty,  than  is  involved 
in  this  determination  which  says,  "  in  defiance  of  all 
thy  warnings,  I  will   not  return   imto  thee,  till  the 
hour  of  death,  and  then  I  know,  that  notwithstanding 
all  thy  threatenings  so  often  repeated,  thou  canst  not, 
and  wilt  not  cast  me  out?"     Here  is  a  direct  contest 
between  man  and  his  Creator.     All  heavenly  beings 


INEFFECTIVE    REPENTANCE.  293 

are  looking  upon  the  issue.  And  what  would  be  the 
effect  of  God's  acceptance  of  this  wilfully  postponed 
submission  to  himself,  but  giving  countenance  to  re- 
hellion  against  himself,  and  showing  a  fickleness  of 
government,  the  supposition  of  which  is  impossible? 
How  strange  does  it  seem,  that  the  very  calculation 
which  man  thus  makes,  upon  the  actions  of  God,  would, 
if  they  should  be  sustained  by  facts,  so  destroy  the 
excellence  of  his  character,  and  the  stability  of  his 
government,  as  to  annul  all  his  claims  upon  the  ho- 
mage of  his  creatures,  and  make  man's  return  to  him 
at  all,  rather  a  disgrace,  than  a  duty  !  And  where  is 
the  difference  in  principle,  between  making  a  god  of 
wood  or  stone,  and  worshipping  that,  and  thus  making 
a  god  in  the  imagination,  supple  to  the  purposes,  and 
complying  with  the  corruptions  of  sinful  men,  and 
promising  to  yield  a  final  submission  and  homage  to 
him?  Either  God  is  a  faithful  and  true  God,  a  great 
and  everlasting  King  who  changes  not,  or  he  is  desti- 
tute of  the  attributes,  which  can  claim  or  deserve  the 
reverence  of  his  creatures.  Under  the  first  view  of 
his  character,  the  hope  of  propitiating  him  in  a  volun- 
tarily late  repentance,  by  the  determination  to  cling  to 
the  horns  of  the  altar,  after  a  life  of  impenitent  sin,  is  a 
manifest  rebellion  against  him,  and  contempt  of  his 
authority  and  truth.  It  can  only  become  availing, 
upon  the  supposition  that  he  is  so  changeable,  that  he 
cannot  claim  the  return  of  man,  nor  be  depended  upon 
to  reward  it,  if  it  be  offered.  How  wrong,  how  ruin- 
ous is  it,  thus  to  indulge,  and  to  act  upon  a  hope, 
which  involves  in  its  very  essence,  rebellion  against 
God,  and  conceptions  most  derogatory  to  his  character 
and  government ! 
2  B  2 


INEFFECTIVE    REPENTANCE. 

IV.  I  remark  upon  such  a  proposed  return  as  in- 
effective, because  its  allowed  success  would  overturn 
all  the  purposes  of  God  in  regard  to  men,  for  which 
the  Gospel  has  provided.  Its  acceptance  by  him 
would  altogether  annihilate  the  design  and  operation 
of  the  Gospel.  The  great  purpose  of  God  in  the  gift 
of  his  Son,  is  the  restoration  of  man  from  sin  to 
obedience ;  the  cleansing  of  him  from  guilt  and  con- 
demnation, that  he  may  serve  God  in  holiness  and 
righteousness  before  him  all  the  days  of  his  life.  The 
proper  and  designed  operation  of  the  Gospel,  is  to 
annihilate  the  actual  rebellion  of  the  world ;  to  re- 
duce its  living  inhabitants  into  subjection  to  their 
Creator,  and  thus  to  restore  his  dominion  here,  in 
perfect  and  eternal  peace.  Man  can  be  a  co-worker 
together  with  God  in  accomplishing  this  end,  only  by 
submitting  his  heart  at  once  and  entirely,  to  the  holy 
and  sanctifying  power  of  the  grace  of  God,  by  accept- 
ing forgiveness  when  it  is  first  olfcrcd,  and  by  gladly 
returning  to  the  appointed  Mediator  for  his  soul,  that 
he  may  be  the  Lord's  forever.  The  Gospel  offers 
him  the  unspeakable  privilege  of  coming  back  into 
communion  and  peace  with  God.  And  unless  he  see 
it  as  a  privilege,  and  gladly  embrace  it  as  such,  it 
offers  him  no  hope  in  its  provisions.  Should  the 
Gospel  accomplish  this  full  purpose  of  God  in  the 
world,  entire  holiness  would  follow  immediately  upon 
its  proclamation  througliout  the  earth,  and  all  men 
who  heard  it,  would  become  under  its  influence,  the 
people  of  God.  But  wliat  would  be  the  effect,  should 
all  men  follow  the  example  of  him  who  looks  for  his 
comfort  and  security  in  a  late  repentance?  God 
would  have  no  servants  upon  the  earth.     None  would 


INEFFECTIVE    REPENTANCE.  295 

remain  to  proclaim  the  glad  tidings  of  redemption  to 
others.  The  very  sound  of  the  Gospel  must  cease 
among  men,  unless  angels  were  sent  from  above  to 
offer  its  mercies  to  their  acceptance.  The  whole 
world  would  remain  in  a  state  of  undistinguished  re- 
bellion against  God,  and  not  a  witness  for  him  would 
be  left  upon  the  globe.  The  very  hope  which  men 
thus  indulge,  of  turning  at  last  to  God,  thus  condemns 
and  destroys  itself  It  is  necessary  in  its  calculation, 
that  there  should  be  others  who  are  not  guided  by  its 
delusion  ;  others,  who  in  greater  fidelity,  have  before 
yielded  to  the  divine  will,  and  embraced  the  privileges 
which  the  Lord  offers ;  and  are,  therefore,  competent 
to  act  as  the  messengers  of  his  mercy,  to  those  who 
have  thus  postponed  their  return  to  him.  And  in 
making  this  calculation,  the  success  of  their  own  ex- 
pectations can  only  be  assured,  in  the  acknowledgment 
of  the  wickedness  and  falsehood  of  the  principles  by 
which  they  are  governed.  How  foolish  and  false  is 
that  hope  which  can  only  stand  upon  the  annihilation 
of  the  very  purposes  and  power  upon  which  itself  de- 
pends !  Nay,  which  can  be  indulged  in  fact  and 
form  only,  because  some  others  at  least,  are  supposed 
to  be  guided  by  better  principles  to  a  safer  course ! 
The  very  expectation,  therefore,  which  plans  such  a 
return  to  God,  shuts  up  against  itself  the  avenue  of 
mercy,  destroys  the  design  and  usefulness  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  like  the  scorpion  in  his  circle  of  fire,  puts  an 
end  to  itself 

Is  not  tliis  a  calculation  upon  an  ineffective  repent- 
ance ?  Without  an  acceptable  motive,  without  time 
to  grow  into  life,  involving  in  itself  actual  rebellion 
against  God,  and  existing  only  upon  the  overturning 


296  INEFFECTIVE    REPENTANCE. 

of  his  purposes,  and  the  annihilation  of  his  plans  of 
grace  to  man,  such  a  late  repentance  is  wholly  invalid 
and  useless.  Its  root  is  rottenness ;  its  blossom  goes 
up  as  dust.  The  sinner  who  is  thus  looking  forward 
to  a  future  late  return  to  God,  is  destroying  himself. 
The  man  who  comes  to  the  last  hour  of  his  life  with- 
out hope,  will  die  without  hope.  We  have  an  altar 
which  furnishes  abundant  refuge  to  those  who  would 
escape  from  guilt;  but  no  cover,  or  protection,  or 
concealment,  to  those  who  would  live  in  guilt,  and 
still  be  rescued  from  its  punishment  and  condemna- 
tion. If,  like  Joab,  men  will  live  to  the  world,  and 
without  God,  like  him  they  will  indubitably  find  them- 
selves left  to  perish  without  hope.  They  will  die 
even  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  in  agony  and  despair. 
They  will  sink  in  eternal  condemnation,  though  they 
then  call  upon  Christ  with  whatever  earnestness, 
Lord,  Lord. 

What  meanest  thou,  then,  O  sleeper  ?  Arise,  and 
call  upon  God,  if  so  be,  thou  perish  not !  Awake 
to-day,  and  embrace  the  blessed  hand  of  love  and 
kindness,  that  would  lead  you  back  in  reconciliation 
unto  God.  Let  him  have  that  which  he  claims,  the 
service  of  your  lives,  all  that  you  can  do  to  establish 
his  authority,  and  to  promote  his  glory.  And  do  not, 
O  do  not,  I  beseech  you,  in  the  very  face  of  inevitable 
certainty  of  ruin,  still  walk  on  amidst  the  foolish  in- 
dulgences of  sin,  in  the  delusive,  destructive  hope, 
that  you  may  come  to  God  when  you  can  sin  no 
more. 


XX. 


THE     LATTER    END. 


Deuteronomy  xxxii.*29. — 0  that  they  were  imse,  that  they  understood 
this,  that  they  tuould  consider  their  latter  end. 

We  have  considered  the  difficulties  and  sorrows 
which  a{tend  the  aged  man  who  is  without  an  interest 
in  the  privileges  and  hopes  of  the  Gospel.  We  have 
traced  the  usual  course  of  man's  procrastination  in 
the  great  business  of  securing  his  eternal  salvation, 
and  seen  the  loss  and  disappointment  to  which  it  leads 
him.  We  have  examined  the  foundation  of  that  hope 
in  which  so  many  indulge,  that  after  a  life  of  voluntary 
sin  and  selfishness,  they  may  still  in  the  end  repent, 
and  turn  to  God,  and  find  acceptance  and  safety  with 
him,  and  seen  how  delusive  and  unsatisfactory  it  is, 
how  useless  it  will  prove  to  those  who  trust  it.  And 
now,  the  present  text  gives  me  the  opportunity  to 
conclude  this  important  series  of  remark,  by  pressing 
upon  the  attention  of  my  hearers,  a  timely  and  prac- 
tical improvement  of  the  truths  which  they  have  heard, 
and  a  due  consideration  of  the  results  which  must 
follow  from  them. 

38  297 


298  THE  LATTER  END. 

The  instances  among  men,  of  the  sinner's  ruinous 
neglect  of  his  soul  and  God,  are  numerous  and  dread- 
ful ;  but  they  form  no  part  of  God's  plan  for  them, 
nor  do  they  meet  or  promote  his  pleasure.  With  an 
overflowing  benevolence,  he  desires  all  men  to  become 
wise  unto  salvation.  With  unspeakable  grace  and 
goodness,  he  has  made  provision  for  them,  that  they 
may  gain  this  blessed  wisdom.  And  with  a  forbear- 
ance, whose  persevering  watchfulness  never  yields, 
until  they  have  finally  cast  away  his  cords  from  them, 
he  continues  to  entreat  them  to  tak^  advantage  of  his 
mercies,  and  to  gain  the  wisdom  which  he  desires  to 
impart.  If  they  go  on  through  life  in  the  ways  of 
sin,  it  is  in  direct  defiance  of  his  desires  and  efforts 
in  their  behalf  If  they  mourn  at  last  over  the  evils 
which  they  find  in  their  chosen  path,  they  are  com- 
pelled to  acquit  him  of  all  blame  in  their  sufferings, 
and  to  acknowledge  that  their  disappointments  and 
woes  are  but  a  literal  fulfilment  of  his  gracious  warn- 
ings which  they  rejected.  God  renders  himself  in 
all  things  connected  with  them,  perfectly  clear ;  and 
neither  his  justice,  his  wisdom,  or  his  goodness  will 
be  stained  in  the  final  punishment  of  the  voluntarily 
ungodly. 

In  our  teirt,  he  exhibits  his  ardent  desire  for  the 
ultimate  safety  and  happiness  of  his  creatures.  With 
an  eye  which  looks  accurately  into  the  future,  and 
brings  remote  and  apparently  doubtful  objects  near, 
and  makes  them  certain,  he  warns  men  of  the  conse- 
quences of  a  present  course  of  rebellion  and  sin.  He 
sees  rocks  which  are  concealed  from  their  view,  and 
dangers  which  they  cannot  know,  but  by  his  warning, 
until  they  try  them ;  and  with  the  utmost  faithfulness 


THE    LATTER    END.  299 

and  tenderness,  he  warns  them  of  the  approachmg 
evil.  And  when  he  finds  his  wnrnings  to  be  all  in 
vain,  and  that  men  are  determined  to  be  taught,  only 
by  their  own  experience  of  evil ;  he  utters  over  them, 
the  language  of  affectionate  lamentation :  "  0  that 
they  were  wise,  that  they  understood  this,  that  they 
would  consider  their  latter  end." 

This  consideration  of  the  latter  end  for  our- 
selves, will  claim  your  present  attention. 

I.  Reflect  upon  this  consideration,  as  a  course  of 
wisdom.  Man's  comparative  wisdom  in  the  affairs 
of  this  life  is  wholly  estimated,  by  his  disposition  to 
anticipate  the  results  of  his  own  actions,  and  his  ability 
to  calculate  upon  those  results  with  success.  He  pnly 
is  considered  a  wise  man,  who  in  every  important  en- 
gagement and  undertaking,  deliberately  and  seriously 
considers  its  latter  end.  If  one  should  throw  his 
capital  into  a  scheme  of  merchandize,  or  embark  Avith 
it  in  an  inviting  speculation,  without  a  full  con- 
sideration of  the  results  to  which  he  was  likely  to  be 
brought,  and  a  cautious  inquiry  into  the  steps  by 
which  his  desired  ends  were  to  be  gained,  who  would 
deem  him  a  man  of  safe  and  practical  wisdom?  or 
who  would  pity  him,  but  for  his  folly,  if  he  was  ruined 
in  the  adventure?  If  the  mariner  should  loose  his 
bark  upon  the  ocean,  without  a  plan  for  gaining  any 
port  or  country  beyond  it,  without  a  chart  or  compass 
to  guide  him  on  his  way,  nay,  without  having  consi- 
dered in  what  direction  he  should  steer,  who  would 
connect  the  attribute  of  wisdom  with  his  name  ?  or 
who  would  wonder  if  he  bilged  upon  the  rocks,  or 
was  swallowed  up  in  the  fathomless  abyss  ?  The  fact 
is,  that  in  all  the  engagements  of  his  present  life,  man 


300  THE  LATTER  END. 

from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  considers  their  latter 
end,  and  with  all  the  wisdom  which  he  can  command, 
provides  for  what  he  presumes  their  several  conclu- 
sions may  be  reasonably  expected  to  require. 

The  whole  object  of  the  Gospel  is  to  bring  to  the 
service  of  God,  and  to  the  attainment  of  eternal 
gains,  the  same  powers  which  man  thus  gives  to  him- 
self and  the  world.  The  whole  of  human  life  may 
be  viewed  as  an  adventure  or  a  voyage,  the  character 
of  which  must  be  displayed  in  future  unchangeable 
results.  And  man's  true  wisdom  consists  in  shaping 
it  for  that  prosperous  and  desirable  issue,  for  which 
the  mediation  and  offering  of  a  Saviour  has  opened 
the  .way,  and  made  the  full  provision.  He  is  required 
to  take  a  full  view  of  his  permanent  condition,  and 
his  ultimate  responsibilities ;  and  to  act  for  the  whole, 
upon  the  very  principle  of  preparation  for  the  future, 
which  in  the  smaller  parts,  he  finds  to  be  the  elements 
of  success.  And  if  the  man  is  not  wise  who  invests 
the  whole  of  his  earthly  wealth  in  an  unexamined 
scheme,  and  lightly  says,  "  the  end  will  take  care  of 
itself,  or  I  will  provide  for  it  when  it  comes;"  how 
can  that  same  man  be  wise  when  he  carelessly  throws 
his  soul's  eternity  into  an  adventure,  and  dashes  head- 
long with  it  into  a  life  of  total  disobedience  to  God, 
in  the  uncertain  hope  of  amending  deficiencies  at  the 
close  of  his  experiment?  Nothing  but  the  fearful 
dominion  of  sin  over  the  heart,  alienating  that  heart 
entirely  from  God,  can  account  for  the  strange  incon- 
sistencies which  man  thus  exhibits.  This  latter  end, 
this  issue  of  man's  probation  is  of  infinite  importance, 
and  leads  to  unalterable  consequences.  It  cannot  be 
provided  for  when  it  arrives,  but  may  be  abundantly 


THE    LATTER    END.  301 

SO,  if  undertaken  in  season.  Surely  then,  he  that  is 
wise  will  consider  it,  and  provide  for  it,  while  the  op- 
portunity is  granted  to  him.  We  cannot  speak  of 
any  man  who  neglects  its  timely  consideration,  what- 
ever pretensions  he  may  make,  but  as  of  one  who 
loves  simplicity  and  hates  knowledge.  We  may  pity 
him,  but  we  must  mourn  over  him  also,  in  the  ex- 
clamation of  our  text,  "  O  that  he  were  wise,  that 
he  understood  this,  that  he  would  consider  his  latter 
end !" 

II.  Reflect  upon  the  circumstances  connected  with 
this  latter  end,  which  are  especially  to  be  considered. 

Consider  the  trials  which  will  be  involved  in  it. 
No  one  can  doubt,  that  the  close  of  human  life  must 
be  to  a  rational  man,  a  period  of  great  anxiety. 
When  every  temporal  hope,  and  interest,  and  comfort, 
is  passing  away ;  when  all  the  sweet  and  endearing 
connexions  of  the  human  station  are  to  be  broken  up; 
when  countenances  that  have  been  seen,  and  places 
which  have  been  known,  for  so  long  a  time,  are  to  be 
seen  and  known  no  more ;  when  unsustained  by  outward 
aid,  and  deprived  of  the  possibility  of  resting  longer 
upon  the  wisdom,  or  the  affection  of  earthly  friends, 
for  encouragement  or  guidance,  we  are  to  be  thrown 
as  far  as  man  is  concerned,  wholly  upon  our  own  re- 
sources, and  must  stand  or  fall  alone ;  when  we  are 
to  try  an  experiment,  of  which,  though  millions  have 
tried  it  before  us,  no  one  can  tell  us  the  result ;  what 
man  can  doubt,  that  such  circumstances  must  involve 
for  us  great  and  peculiar  trials,  or  that  the  flesh  and 
heart  of  man  must  fail  beneath  them  ?  Our  condition 
is  new.  It  is  deeply  mysterious.  It  is  a  change,  not 
from  one  visible  scene  to  another,  but  fi'om  all  things 
2  C 


302  THE    LATTER   END. 

which  are  visible,  to  something  which  is  not  and  can- 
not be  contemplated  by  the  eye  of  man.  In  that 
hour,  lethargy  may  seal  up  the  sensibilities;  rage  and 
despair  may  overwhelm  concern;  perhaps  acquired 
stoicism  may  deride  the  danger.  But  to  a  man  under 
the  clear  and  calm  influence  of  enlightened  reason,  it 
must  be  a  period  of  oppressive  anxiety.  Nothing 
known  to  man,  but  the  ascending  hope  of  the  Gospel,  and 
the  assurance  of  faith  in  a  Saviour's  power  and  pro- 
mise, that  it  will  be  fulfilled  for  us  to  the  uttermost, 
can  form  amidst  these  trials  an  adequate  support. 

Consider  the  peculiar  wants  which  it  will  manifest. 
There  may  be  no  deficiency  around  of  earthly  com- 
forts. All  that  man  or  money  can  do,  may  be  sup- 
posed collected,  to  mitigate  the  sorrows,  to  conceal  the 
weakness,  to  alleviate  the  pain,  and  to  dignify  the  condi- 
tion of  the  dying  man.  A  grateful  family  may  minister 
with  affectionate  tenderness.  Sweet  sympathy  may  fan 
the  fainting  spirit.  And  attendants  well  provided  may 
anticipate  every  bodily  want.  But  after  all  these, 
there  are  necessities  developed,  w^hich  these  cannot 
supply.  Divine  revelation  does  not  create  or  call  forth 
these  necessities.  The  ignorance  of  revelation  cannot 
banish  them.  What  are  they  ?  The  wants  of  a  dying 
man  !  He  is  entering  upon  a  world  inconceivably 
vast,  and  entirely  unknown.  Many  loved  ones  have 
accompanied  hiai  to  the  edge  of  the  wilderness,  and 
encouraged  him  not  to  fear,  as  he  enters  into  it,  but  he 
is  to  part  from  them  all,  and  to  go  out  alone,  into  this 
pathless  desert ;  shrinking,  trembling,  anxious,  doubt- 
ful, afraid,  yet  compelled  to  travel  onward  ;  not  know- 
ing what  shall  befall  him  there,  but  unable  to  forget 
that  most  solemn,  perhaps  tremendous,  results  are  to 


THE  LATTER  END. 


303 


issue  from  every  step.  He  wants  a  guide  who  shall 
be  infallible,  to  take  the  hand  while  it  is  warm  from 
the  last  earthly  pressure,  and  to  lead  him  forward, 
with  a  certain  and  inspiring  confidence.  He  wants  to 
hear  a  voice  that  can  utter  to  him,  there,  where  the 
accents  of  human  affection  have  died  upon  his  ear, 
the  language  of  undoubted,  inspiring,  and  tender  en- 
couragement. He  wants  some  garments  of  glory  and 
beauty  which  may  be  clothed,  upon  a  soul  that  is  now 
unclothed  from  its  mortal  covering,  and  conceal  the 
deformities  which  its  nakedness  displays.  He  wants 
an  arm  upon  whose  unbending  steadfastness,  he  may 
rest  the  firmest  pressure,  when  the  last  earthly  em- 
brace has  been  unlocked ;  and  whose  power  can  pro- 
tect and  shield  him  amidst  whatever  may  betide.  He 
wants,  and  he  has  no  comfort  unless  he  gains,  the  cer- 
tain assurance  of  glory  and  immortality,  which  the 
accepted  promises  of  the  Gospel  can  alone  impart. 
God  the  Saviour  must  be  with  him,  in  the  fulness  of 
his  revealed  sufficiency,  or  he  cannot  approach  his  latter 
end  but  with  doubt  and  terror. 

Consider  the  results  which  must  flow  from  it.  The 
changes  in  our  present  life,  are  not  only  alleviated,  but 
often  annihilated  in  their  painful  influence,  by  the  pro- 
bable revolutions  which  may  soon  altogether  alter  their 
distressing  appearance  and  operation.  But  the  results 
of  man's  latter  end  are  unchangeable.  There  cannot 
be  a  more  ruinous  delusion,  than  that  which  exhibits  to 
him,  a  possible  future  probation,  after  these  issues  of  his 
present  life  have  come  to  him  in  the  hour  of  his  death. 
The  dying  man  is  entering  upon  scenes  whose  char- 
acter he  has  already  fixed  beyond  the  power  of  change. 
He  is  to  reap  a  harvest  which  he  has  sowed  for  him- 


304  THE  LATTER  END. 

self.  And  how  momentous  is  its  character !  Shall 
he  rise  from  the  bed  of  death,  like  the  phoenix  from  his 
ashes,  in  unalterable  youth,  and  mount  up  the  shining 
path  to  glory,  amidst  songs  of  surrounding  praise,  with 
a  heart  instinctively  attuned  to  join  this  new  song 
when  it  strikes  his  ear  ?  Shall  he  find  himself  trans- 
ported to  unutterable  elevation  and  bliss,  standing 
before  the  Son  of  God,  to  partake  of  his  glory  and  to 
triumph  in  his  dominion  ?  Or  shall  he  sink  into  eter- 
nity, under  a  load  which  no  created  power  can  sustain, 
convulsing  amidst  despair  and  anguish,  goaded  by  the 
consciousness  of  guilt,  separated  from  all  communion 
with  the  God  of  peace,  crowded  amidst  beings  who 
are  only  hateful  and  hating  one  another  ?  This  is  the 
alternative,  the  choice  of  results  before  him.  One  of 
these  is  to  be  the  subject  of  his  unavoidable  expe- 
rience. And  whichever  it  may  be,  its  character  and 
operation  is  unalterable  forever.  0,  with  what  im- 
portance, does  this  succeeding  eternity  encompass  the 
latter  end  of  man  !  And  how  certain  must  it  be,  that 
he  alone  is  wise,  who  timely  and  adequately  considers 
it! 

Consider  the  provisions  which  it  will  require.  They 
must  be  something  upon  which  the  soul  may  feed,  and 
m  which  it  may  stand  secure.  They  must  be  fur- 
nished by  some  being  who  has  power  over  the  world 
to  come.  Plainly,  man  must  have  a  perfect  righteous- 
ness which  he  can  present  to  God,  in  which  all  sin 
may  be  forgotten,  and  an  undisputed  title  be  found  to 
eternal  glory.  Peradventures  of  safety  will  answer 
him  no  purpose.  He  must  have  a  hope  within  him, 
and  be  able  to  give  a  reason  of  the  hope  which  is  in 
him;  a  hope  which  shall  be  firm  as  an  anchor  for  his 


THE    LATTER   END.  305 

soul.  No  inducement  will  lead  him  forward  with  de- 
sire, or  willingness,  towards  God,  which  does  not  mani- 
festly and  entirely  remove,  the  barrier  between  them 
which  guilt  has  made,  and  assure  the  soul,  that  there 
is  perfect  peace  for  it  with  God.  But  nothing  pre- 
tends to  do  this,  save  the  sure  mercies  which  are  re- 
vealed in  the  Gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  And  no  one, 
but  he  who  has  by  a  living  faith  appropriated  these 
mercies  unto  himself,  can  ever  say,  that  all  doubt  has 
fled,  and  calm  full  sunshine  rests  upon  the  bosom  of 
eternity.  All  other  hopes  tremble  and  crack,  and 
crush,  beneath  the  weight  which  is  imposed  upon  them, 
and  leave  the  deluded  man  who  has  entrusted  himself 
to  them,  to  perish  unprovided  and  alone.  Man's 
latter  end  requires  all  the  provisions  of  grace  which 
the  Gospel  offers,  and  it  will  be  satisfied  and  peaceful 
with  nothing  less. 

Consider  the  serious  question,  whether  you  have 
gained  these  provisions,  and  are  therefore  ready  now, 
to  test  in  your  own  experience,  all  that  this  latter  end 
shall  be  able  to  bring  to  view.  You  are  now  compe- 
tent to  understand  this,  in  its  importance,  and  its  char- 
acter ;  and  to  view  it  as  it  is  presented  to  you,  in  all 
its  magnitude  and  results.  What  you  are  thus  com- 
petent to  do,  becomes  a  matter  of  absolute  obligation 
upon  you.  And  when  you  consider  that  it  is  impos- 
sible for  a  better  or  more  advantageous  time  to  arrive, 
for  the  arrangement  of  all  your  interests  and  hopes  for 
eternity,  and  that  it  is  extremely  improbable,  that  any 
other  opportunity  will  be  granted  to  you  equally  desi- 
rable with  the  present,  you  cannot  wonder,  if  your 
character  as  men  of  wisdom  is  wholly  decided,  by  the 
course  which  you  now  pursue,  in  reference  to  this 

2  c  2  3« 


306  THE  LATTER  END. 

important  subject.     If  you  are  wise,  you  will  under- 
stand this,  and  consider  your  latter  end. 

III.  Upon  the  authority  of  the  truths  which  have 
been  thus  presented  to  you,  I  trust  I  may  now  urge 
you,  to  a  practicable  fulfilment  of  this  duty.  The 
disadvantages  of  neglecting  it,  I  have  attempted  at  some 
extent  to  display ;  and  it  would  certainly  seem,  that 
no  rational  man  could  assume  these  fearful  evils  upon 
himself.  The  immense  importance  of  attending  to  it, 
and  attending  to  it  in  the  proper  season,  stands  before 
you  as  an  entire  parallel.  When  you  consider  the 
latter  end  of  others,  and  contrast  together  the  various 
issues  of  their  lives ;  when  you  behold  the  piety  of 
youth  and  active  life,  rising  into  the  joy  and  peace  of  a 
Christian's  departure,  and  mark  the  final  triumph  of  a 
soul,  which  has  wisely  considered  and  provided  for  its 
whole  responsibility,  you  cannot  fail  to  see,  how  much 
has  been  gained,  by  adopting  the  Gospel  as  the  pow- 
erful and  practical  principle  of  conduct,  in  the  morn- 
ing of  man's  day  of  grace.  When  you  contrast  with 
this,  the  barrenness  and  doubt,  the  agitation  and  regret, 
the  anguish  and  despair,  which  distinguish  the  latter 
end  of  a  sinful,  worldly-minded  man ;  your  whole  soul 
rises  up  in  the  exclamation,  **let  me  not  come  into 
their  secret,  nor  be  joined  to  their  assembly  !"  Yet 
strange  as  it  may  seem,  while  all  within,  and  all  with- 
out, is  thus  urging  you  forward  to  a  course  of  safety 
and  interest,  the  trifling  temptations  which  you  per- 
fectly understand,  and  altogether  despise,  though  you 
submit  to  them,  are  sufficient  to  lead  you  away  into 
tlie  permanent  and  ruinous  captivity  of  sin.  And 
things  of  eternal  moment,  messengers  of  the  most 
High  God,  must  stand  and  wait  in  the  vestibule  of  your 


THE   LATTER   END.  307 

minds,  while  crackling  mirth,  and  scornful  gain,  and 
scoffing  unbelief,  are  rioting  with  the  madness  of  suc- 
cessful usurpers,  in  the  halls  within.  0,  strange  per- 
version of  an  immortal  spirit !  How  unworthy  does 
such  a  man  become,  of  the  dignity  of  his  elevation, 
and  the  abundance  of  his  privileges  ! 

I  would  urge  you  with  deep  earnestness  and  affec- 
tion, to  an  immediate  attention  to  the  things  which 
belong  to  your  eternal  peace.  Bring  home  those 
alienated  hearts,  whose  affections  are  scattered 
throughout  the  earth,  and  let  them  take  advantage  of 
the  noble  offers  which  are  made  to  them  of  peace 
with  God,  and  glory  in  the  highest.  Without  holi- 
ness, the  product  of  God's  operations  in  a  renewed 
heart,  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord.  Your  latter  end 
will  find  no  quietness  or  peace,  unless  it  has  been 
thus  provided  for,  in  a  new  birth  of  your  souls  unto 
righteousness,  through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
Let  faith  triumph  over  the  temptations  of  sense ;  and 
prayer,  in  dependence  upon  God,  assume  the  place  of 
confidence  in  your  own  wisdom;  and  an  humble  seek- 
ing after  God  the  Saviour,  make  the  single  principle 
and  business  of  your  life.  Then  shall  your  light 
break  forth  as  brightness ;  and  God,  even  your  own 
God,  shall  shine  upon  your  souls  in  the  fulness  of  his 
approbation  and  favour.  Make  the  Redeemer  of  sin- 
ners, in  the  power  of  his  Deity,  and  the  offering  of 
his  humanity,  in  the  worth  of  his  righteousness,  and 
the  atonement  of  his  death,  the  portion  of  your  heart, 
and  the  comfort  of  your  spirits ;  and  your  fruit  shall 
be  unto  holiness,  and  your  end  everlasting  life. 


XXI. 


THE    TRUE    CIRCUMCISION. 


Phii-lippians  iii.  3. —  We  are  the  circumcision,  which  worship  God  in  the  Spirit, 
and  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  have  no  confidence  in  Ihejksh. 

In  the  midst  of  this  guilty  world,  God  has  a  holy, 
peculiar  people.  They  are  the  special  objects  of 
his  love,  his  tenderness,  and  his  protection.  To 
them  pertain,  the  adoption  into  his  family  as  chil- 
dren, the  inheriting  of  his  kingdom  as  chosen 
heirs,  the  present  blessings  of  his  pardoning  and 
sanctifying  grace,  and  the  future  and  eternal  re- 
sults of  his  glory.  They  are  endowed  with  many 
great  and  precious  comforts  by  his  gift,  and  are 
under  very  pressing  and  peculiar  obligations,  by 
his  appointment.  In  the  appropriate  language  of 
our  17th  Article,  "  They  which  be  endued  with 
so  excellent  a  benefit  of  God,  be  called  according 
to  God's  purpose,  by  his  Spirit  working  in  due 
season ;  they  through  grace,  obey  the  calling : 
they  be  justified  freely ;  they  be  made  the  sons  of 
God  by  adoption ;  they  be  made  like  the  image  of 
his  only  begotten  Son  Jesus  Christ ;  they  walk  re- 


THE  TRUE  CIRCUMCISION.  309 

ligiously  in  good  works;  and  at  length,  by  God's 
mercy,  they  attain  to  everlasting  felicity."  These 
are  called  the  people,  the  Israel  of  God,  the  true 
circumcision ;  and  some  very  important  character- 
istics of  them,  are  described  in  our  present  text. 
They  worship  God  in  the  Spirit ;  they  rejoice  in 
Christ  Jesus ;  they  have  no  confidence  in  the  flesh. 
To  consider  their  marks  and  character,  becomes  a 
subject  of  deep  interest,  both  to  those  who  trust 
that  they  already  belong  to  this  "blessed  company 
of  God's  faithful  people,"  and  to  those  whose  de- 
sires are  awakened  and  excited,  towards  the  pri- 
vileges which  God  has  laid  up  for  them. 

In  our  present  text,  the  Apostle  styles  them 
"  the  circumcision."  In  the  earlier  dispensation 
of  grace  to  man,  this  was  the  external  mark  of 
the  profession  of  the  true  faith ; — the  sign  upon 
those  who  had  avowedly  entered  into  covenant 
with  God.  The  rite  was  confined  to  the  descend- 
ants of  a  single  man.  All  the  rest  of  mankind 
were  what  the  Apostle  here  calls  "  the  concision," 
the  cut  off,  from  God's  chosen  and  covenant  peo- 
ple. But  this  rite  was  merely  typical,  even  while 
it  was  established  and  observed.  It  referred  to  a 
circumcision  of  the  heart,  by  the  power  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  without  which  all  men  were  really 
cut  off,  whether  they  were  outwardly  circumcised 
or  not.  The  external  circumcision  or  concision 
of  the  flesh,  marked  a  division  of  men  in  profes- 
sion and  appearance.  The  spiritual  circumcision 
or  concision  of  the  heart,  were  the  evidence  of 
the  actual  division  of  men  in  the  presence  and 
sight  of  God. 


310  THE  TRUE   CIRCUMCISION. 

When  the  Apostle  WTote,  the  outward  facts  in 
this  case  were  changed,  only  so  far,  as  that  the 
outward  sign  which  was  referred  to,  had  been 
abolished.  The  type  was  gone ;  and  the  reality 
of  spiritual  character  which  it  had  been  used  to 
represent,  was  alone  to  be  considered.  The 
things  which  concision  and  circumcision  were  de- 
signed to  represent,  still  remained  in  two  per- 
fectly distinct  classes  of  men,  though  the  particu- 
lar rite  which  had  marked  the  difference,  was  no 
longer  to  be  regarded.  The  spiritual  reality  was 
now  to  be  considered  and  required.  The  figure 
and  the  shadow  had  been  removed  from  view. 
Under  the  Gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  spirit- 
ual truth  and  character  were  the  things  of  mo- 
ment. Material  indicative  forms  were  compara- 
tively of  inferior  consequence.  The  time  had 
come,  when  the  uncircumcision,  if  it  kept  the 
righteousness  of  the  law,  should  be  counted  for 
circumcision ;  when  circumcision  was  that  of  the 
heart,  in  the  spirit,  and  not  in  the  letter,  whose 
praise  is  not  of  men,  but  of  God.  Now,  the  true 
circumcision  were  those  who  worship  God  in  the 
Spirit,  and  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  have  no 
confidence  in  the  flesh.  The  Apostle  gives  us  in 
our  text,  three  marks  of  this  peculiar  people,  the 
true  Israel  of  God,  spiritual  worship,  single  joy  in 
Christ,  and  entire  renuyidation  of  self.  They  must 
be  considered,  as  points  for  examination  into  our 
own  character,  and  as  objects  of  cultivation  and 
pursuit,  of  the  utmost  consequence  in  the  work 
of  religion  upon  our  own  souls. 

The  true  circumcision  are  distinguished  by  a 


THE   TRUE   CIRCUMCISION.  311 

spiritual  worship  of  God.  Baptism,  as  the  outward 
rite  of  admission  to  the  visible  church,  must  be 
considered,  in  all  important  respects,  analogous  to 
circumcision,  to  which  it  has  succeeded,  and  the 
place  of  which  it  has  been  appointed  to  take. 
We  must  therefore  say  also  of  it,  that  it  presents 
the  same  important  distinction  between  the  mere 
outward  rite,  and  the  inward  spiritual  character 
which  it  is  designed  to  illustrate  and  display,  and 
the  necessity  of  which  it  proclaims.  Circumcision 
has  been  abolished.  And  baptism  has  been  ap- 
pointed, the  typical  sign  of  the  regeneration  of  the 
spirit,  and  the  sacramental  pledge  of  the  spiritual 
covenant  which  it  indicates.  But  in  reference  to 
baptism  also,  we  must  say,  "  we  are  the  baptism, 
who  worship  God  in  the  Spirit,  and  rejoice  in  Christ 
Jesus,  and  have  no  confidence  in  the  flesh."  The 
simple  distinction  between  the  two  assertions  is, 
that  the  one  rite  is  completely  renounced,  because 
divinely  abolished  ;  the  other,  though  divinely  ap- 
pointed and  therefore  necessarily  still  retained  as 
obligatory  in  the  church,  is  in  itself  made  wholly 
subordinate  to  the  spiritual  character  which  it  is 
designed  to  represent ;  and  is  no  mark  of  the  real 
people  of  God  without  that  as  connected  with  it. 
We  are  not  permitted  to  stop  in  the  outward  rite, 
though  ordained  of  God,  but  must  go  on  to  require 
the  abiding  spiritual  characteristics,  which  it  is 
intended  to  enforce  and  teach. 

The  true  circumcision  "  worship  God  in  the 
Spirit."  The  people  of  God  are  persons  who  wor- 
ship. Nothing  marks  them  more  universally  than 
the  fact  that  they  pray.     This  was  the  first  indica- 


312  THE  TRUE  CIRCUMCISION. 

tion  of  the  work  of  grace  in  the  heart  of  convicted 
Saul, — "  behold  he  prayeth."  There  can  be  no  pro- 
fessed religion  without  worship:  and  no  real  spirit- 
ual piety  without  an  experience  and  habit  of  spirit- 
ual worship.  Prayer  is  the  very  first  instinctive 
acting  of  grace.  Prayer  remains  the  index  of  the 
actual  state  of  grace  in  the  heart.  The  awakened 
and  convicted  soul  cries  out  for  mercy.  The  pen- 
itent and  sorrowing  soul  sues  for  peace  and  par- 
don. The  believing  soul  seeks  for  increase  and 
continuance  of  blessings  which  can  only  come 
from  God.  The  heart  is  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
touched,  broken,  melted,  renewed  in  life.  And 
the  language  of  every  stage  of  the  work  is  prayer. 
Abounding  blessings  have  been  bestowed,  in  the 
forbearing  with  guilt,  the  arousing  of  the  careless, 
the  comforting  of  the  penitent, — and  the  new- 
born soul  has  an  instant,  and  a  repeated  offering 
of  praise  to  bring,  with  its  offerings  of  prayer. 
So  that  its  new  distinction  is  worship, — habitual 
worship, — continued,  frequent,  affectionate,  neces- 
sary worship.  The  closet  tells  of  it.  The  family 
announces  it.  The  sanctuary  records  it.  The 
wayside  sets  up  monuments  of  it.  The  day  bears 
witness  to  it.  The  night  is  broken  by  it.  It  em- 
ploys the  heart.  It  engages  the  mind.  It  occu- 
pies the  tongue.  And  the  instant,  uniform,  neces- 
sary distinction  of  the  people  of  God  is,  they  wor- 
ship.    "We  are  the  circumcision  who  worship." 

But  worship  is  distinguished  by  its  object.  The 
pagan  worships;  and  morning,  noon,  and  night, 
cries  out  to  a  deity,  inhabiting,  as  he  imagines,  his 
idol  gods,  like  the  ancient  prophets,  "  O  Baal,  hear 


THE  TRUE  CIRCUMCISION.  313 

US."  The  papist  worships;  and  counts  his  rosa- 
ries in  prayer  to  the  virgin  and  the  saints;  and 
throws  himself  in  voluntary  but  rejected  humility, 
before  his  wafer  idol;  the  deity  which  dwells  as 
he  imagines,  in  the  vessel  which  the  priest  holds 
up  to  view.  But  all  creature-worship  is  under 
condemnation  before  God,  who  will  not  give  His 
glory  to  another,  and  hath  said,  "  Cursed  is  the 
man  that  maketh  any  graven  or  molten  image,  an 
abomination  unto  the  Lord,  the  work  of  the  hands 
of  the  craftsman,  and  putteth  it  in  a  secret  place." 
Whatever  may  be  the  concealment,  or  the  pallia- 
tion for  idolatry,  God  places  it  everywhere  under 
a  curse.  They  who  are  truly  His  people,  are  dis- 
tinguished by  the  total  casting  out  of  all  inferior 
objects,  and  setting  up  the  Lord  Jehovah  alone, 
as  the  single  proper  object  of  prayer  and  praise. 
The  wants  which  they  feel,  God  alone  can  supply. 
The  blessings  for  which  they  are  thankful,  have 
been  the  gifts  of  His  hand  alone.  They  are  taught 
by  His  Spirit,  utterly  to  renounce  all  hope  in  any 
created  arm ;  and  to  come  directly  and  unceas- 
ingly, with  all  their  homage  and  worship,  to  the 
One  Living  and  True  God.  They  glory  in  Him; 
they  praise  Him  ;  they  trust  themselves  to  Him, 
and  to  Him  alone.  It  is  therefore  not  only  their 
distinction,  that  they  worship; — they  have  but 
one  object  of  worship.  The  Lord  their  God  is  one 
Lord.  And  they  are  the  true  circumcision  who 
worship  God. 

But  the  Deist  and  the  Socinian  professedly  wor- 
ship God.  The  Apostle  brings  forth  another  in- 
separable distinction  of  the  true  people  of  God, 


314  THE   TRUE   CIRCUMCISION. 

in  this  one  characteristic  of  their  worship, — they 
worship  God  in  the  Spirit.  The  Deist  who  wholly 
rejects  the  guidance  of  the  written  revelation,  and 
the  Socinian  who  casts  away  the  grand  fact  and 
subject  of  that  revelation,  in  denying  the  Deity, 
Atonement  and  Mediation  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
may  profess  to  worship  the  One  God.  But  such 
worship,  like  the  proud  offering  of  Cain,  presenting 
a  professed  obedience,  feeling  no  burden  of  guilt, 
acknowledging  no  need  of  a  divine  sacrifice  and 
righteousness  to  be  provided  in  man's  behalf,  is 
assuredly  rejected.  In  reference  to  all  such  wor- 
ship, however  single  may  be  its  object,  God  will 
take  the  same  attitude  which  He  assumed  towards 
the  first  offerer  of  such  homage.  "  The  Lord  had 
respect  unto  Abel  and  his  offering ;  but  unto  Cain 
and  his  offering.  He  had  not  respect."  The  differ- 
ence between  them  is  declared  to  have  been,  that 
by  faith  in  the  divine  revelations  and  promises, 
Abel  offered  a  more  excellent  sacrifice  than  Cain ; 
by  which  he  obtained  witness  that  he  was  right- 
eous, God  testifying  of  his  gifts.  Abel  becomes 
therefore  the  great  leader  of  acceptable  worship- 
pers,—of  w^hom  it  still  remains  the  divine  testi- 
mony, that  they  not  only  worship  God,  but  also 
worship  Him  in  the  Spirit. 

The  Spirit,  is  here  beyond  all  dispute,  the  Holy 
Spirit,  the  Spirit  of  God.  And  spiritual  worship  is 
worship  under  the  guidance  of  this  Divine  Spirit, 
in  contrast  to  the  mere  offerings  of  blind  and  sin- 
ful human  nature,  acting  according  to  its  own  will. 
The  Spirit  reveals  to  the  people  of  God,  God  in 
His  threefold  distinction  of  persons, — the  Father, 


THE   TRUE   CIRCUMCISION.  315 

the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost, — as  the  great  and 
glorious  object  of  worship.  The  Spirit  teaches, 
that  there  is  access  for  sinful  man  to  the  Father, 
only  through  the  atoning  obedience  and  death  of 
the  Son — manifest  in  the  flesh.  He  brings  man  to 
the  mercy-seat,  as  guilty  and  deserving  condemna- 
tion, to  ask  for  forgiveness  and  acceptance,  in  sin- 
gle reliance  upon  this  one  sacrifice,  by  which  God 
hath  perfected  forever,  them  that  are  sanctified. 
He  opens  in  the  word,  to  the  view  of  man,  this 
Glorious  Covenant  God,  an  Incarnate  God,  as  the 
One  who  inhabiteth,  fiUeth  up,  all  the  praises  and 
worship  of  His  people.  He  utters  forth  in  every 
variety  of  expression,  the  great  and  all  important 
fact,  that  He  is  tbe  only  life,  and  way  to  life ;  the 
only  salvation,  and  means  of  salvation,  to  fallen 
man.  He  shuts  up  every  other  access  to  God,  de- 
claring that  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father,  but 
by  the  Son ;  and  unhesitatingly  proclaiming  to  all 
others  who  would  climb  up  some  other  way,  "  Ye 
know  not  what  ye  worship."  They  are  the  true 
circumcision,  who,  seeking  and  following  the  guid- 
ance of  the  Spirit,  in  the  instructions  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  believe  that  this  God  is,  and  is  the 
rewarder  of  all  who  diligently  seek  Him.  They 
worship  God  in  the  Spirit,  because  they  worship 
God  as  the  Spirit  has  revealed  Him. 

But  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  worship 
of  the  people  of  God,  goes  beyond  the  mere  pro- 
vision of  written  instruction  upon  this  subject. 
The  Apostle  teaches  us,  that  there  is  an  actual, 
personal  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  believer's 
prayer ;  an  imparting  of  divine  power,  an  inward 


316  THE  TRUE   CIRCUMCISION. 

support  of  experienced  infirmities,  a  communica- 
tion of  knowledge  and  wisdom,  most  important  to 
the  ignorance  which  he  feels,  and  to  the  blindness 
of  which  he  is  conscious.  The  Spirit  creates  the 
state  of  mind  which  calls  for  prayer;  the  appe- 
tite, consciousness,  feeling  which  must  pray.  He 
makes  our  burdens  heavy,  so  that  we  cannot  bear 
them;  our  dangers  and  difficulties  great,  so  that 
we  cannot  force  our  way  through  them ;  our  sor- 
rows many,  so  that  we  are  oppressed  by  them. 
Then,  because  we  feel  wretched,  guilty,  lost,  help- 
less and  undone,  we  pray,  we  must  pray.  He 
shows  us  how  fully  God  has  provided  for  our 
wants;  the  perfect  and  adapted  sufficiency  of  His 
redemption  to  meet  our  case.  He  makes  us  feel, 
that  we  must  have  just  what  Christ  possesses ; 
and  to  see,  that  Christ  possesses,  just  what  we 
need.  He  convinces  us  of  sin  in  ourselves,  and 
of  righteousness  in  Him.  He  brings  us  to  His  fin- 
ished perfect  work  of  merit,  to  cast  the  incense  of 
our  worship  upon  the  glowing  fire  of  His  righteous- 
ness, that  the  Father  may  receive  the  sweet  savour 
of  that  offering,  and  look  upon  the  face  of  His 
Anointed,  and  extend  through  Him,  the  riches  of 
His  grace  to  us.  Then  we  worship  in  the  Spirit. 
He  dictates  the  prayer  we  utter.  He  moves  and 
melts  the  heart  which  utters  it.  He  writes  upon 
our  souls,  the  record  of  judgment  and  mercy, 
which  we  need  and  feel.  And  our  prayer  be- 
comes the  effectual  inwrought  prayer  of  the  justi- 
fied man,  which  availeth  much.  We  are  then  the 
true  circumcision  who  worship  God  in  the  Spirit. 
Spiritual  worship  has  reference  farther,  to  the 


THE   TRUE   CIRCUMCISION.  317 

inward  seat  of  worship,  in  opposition  to  the  mere 
worship  in  outward  form.  It  is  worship  with  the 
heart,  and  not  with  the  lips  and  words  only.  The 
same  Spirit  who  has  revealed  the  object,  and  aided 
the  infirmities  of  our  worship,  prepares  the  heart, 
and  makes  it  active  and  earnest,  in  the  sacred 
engagement  to  which  it  has  thus  been  brought. 
Vain  and  worthless  are  all  the  costly  oblations  of 
outward  prayer  and  praise,  when  offered  by  them- 
selves. The  publican's  secret  cry,  "  God  be  mer- 
ciful to  me  a  sinner,"  gushing  forth  from  the  full 
fountain  of  a  broken  heart ; — the  faint  and  half- 
formed  whisper  of  the  soul  that  first  sees,  in  Jesus, 
a  remedy  for  its  conscious  guilt,  "  Lord,  remember 
me  in  thy  kingdom ;" — the  lowly  anxious  call  of  the 
sinner  who  feels  himself  sinking  in  the  waves  of 
condemnation,  "Lord,  save  me,  or  I  perish;" — far 
outweigh  them  all.  O  there  is  a  piercing  power 
in  prayer  like  this !  Every  throb  of  such  a  heart 
is  felt  in  heaven.  Every  groan  from  such  a  spirit 
ascends  like  celestial  music  to  the  throne  of  God. 
This  broken,  unearthly  dialect  is  there  thoroughly 
understood.  The  Spirit  recognizes  the  formation 
of  his  power.  The  Son  acknowledges  this  travail- 
ing soul  as  the  happy  and  desired  reward  of  the 
sorrow^s  of  his  own  soul  in  the  flesh.  The  Father 
welcomes  this  object  of  earth's  neglect,  as  a  shin- 
ing jewel  in  the  crown  of  his  beloved  Son,  in 
whom  he  is  well  pleased.  And  there  is  joy  in 
the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God,  when  it  can  be 
said  thus  of  the  returning  sinner,  the  heart-broken 
penitent,  the  humble,  self-renouncing  believer, 
"  Behold  he  prayeth."     They  who  stay  not  in  the 


318  THE   TRUE   CIRCUMCISION. 

outward  form  of  words,  but  thus  speak  from  the 
real  experience  of  the  heart  to  God,  are  the  true 
circumcision  who  thus  worship  God  in  the  Spirit. 

But  we  must  take  a  further  step,  while  we  say, 
that  to  worship  God  in  the  Spirit,  intimates  the 
actual  state  and  action  of  this  heart  in  prayer ;  in 
opposition  to  all  coldness,  indifference,  or  listless 
unconcern,  in  our  approach  to  God.  Spiritual 
prayer  is  fervent,  animated,  engrossing  prayer. 
When  the  burden  presses  heavily,  and  the  case 
seems  instant  and  all-important,  and  the  way  is 
open,  and  the  Saviour  is  near,  and  the  blessing 
seems  just  ready  to  be  given,  then  the  soul  is  en- 
gaged in  its  work.  It  is  deaf  to  outward  sounds, 
and  blind  to  sights  abroad.  It  is  dead  to  earth, 
and  alive  to  God.  It  is  doing  a  great  work,  and 
cannot  come  down  to  the  trifles  which  are  perish- 
ing while  they  are  used.  It  is  with  Abraham  in 
the  mount,  and  with  Moses  in  the  cloud,  and  per- 
sons and  things  below  are  forgotten  and  left  be- 
hind. Oh,  how  precious  and  important,  are  even 
moments  like  these,  while  the  King  is  seen  in  His 
beauty,  and  liberty  of  access  is  found  unto  God  in 
Christ.  This  is  the  state  of  a  renewed  heart  in 
the  lively  actings  of  its  grace.  And  though  the 
people  of  God  have  not  this  blessed  state  of  mind 
as  a  permanent  state,  yet  are  they  favored  often 
with  these  precious  visitations  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
— and  learn  for  their  enjoyment  to  prize  them 
most  highly,  and  to  wish  that  it  were  always  thus 
with  them.  They  are  thus  excited  and  encour- 
aged to  desire  the  constant  dominion  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  within  them ;  so  that  they  may,  not  only  in 


THE   TRUE  CIRCUMCISION.  319 

the  object  whom  the  Spirit  reveals,  and  the  prayer 
which  the  Spirit  imparts,  and  the  renewed  heart, 
in  which  he  writes  for  them,  and  reads  to  them, 
this  prayer  of  faith ;  but  also  in  the  constant  fer- 
vency and  love  of  this  praying  heart,  in  its  most 
animated  and  holy  state,  worship  God  who  is  a 
Spirit,  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 

This  is  a  short  and  partial  exhibition  of  spiritual 
worship ;  one  of  the  marks  and  characteristics  of 
the  true  circumcision, — the  real  people  of  God. 
O  my  friends,  what  do  you  know  of  this  ?  Have 
you  thus  been  led  up  into  the  mount,  where  God 
meets  his  people  ?  Try  your  secret  prayers  by  this 
standard.  Try  your  united  public  prayers  by  this. 
There  may  be  many  together ;  but  God  is  looking 
upon,  and  regarding  the  heart  of  each,  as  if  he  were 
entirely  alone.  Spiritual  worship  is  not  a  partner- 
ship in  a  common  offering,  of  which  even  the  gen- 
eral character  may  be,  that  it  is  sincere  and  spir- 
itual, that  will  render  your  worship  acceptable,  as 
if  the  fervency  of  some  would  make  up  for  the 
dullness  of  others.  It  is  your  own  personal,  indi- 
vidual condition  and  offering  which  is  alone  to  be 
regarded.  If  Jesus  be  in  the  assembly  for  you,  he 
is  dwelling  personally  within  you.  If  the  work  of 
the  Spirit  be  in  the  outward  congregation,  it  must 
be  experienced  in  your  own  heart  to  be  of  any 
avail  to  yourself.  The  Pharisee  and  the  Publican 
prayed  together  in  the  same  temple,  at  the  same 
hour  and  offering  of  worship.  The  one  went  down 
to  his  house  justified;  the  other  did  not.  O  test 
and  see  the  character  of  your  prayers.  If  you  are 
the  true  circumcision,  you  are  taught  to  worship 


320  THE   TRUE   CIRCUMCISION. 

God  in  the  Spirit ;  and  do  habitually  thus  draw 
nigh  to  him.  Still  again,  my  friends,  what  do  you 
desire  to  know  of  this  ?  Here  is  laid  before  you 
one  of  the  marks  of  God's  family.  Would  you 
have  your  inheritance  with  them  ?  Come,  then, 
Christ  is  the  way.  The  Spirit  gives  the  desire, 
and  will  give  you  the  ability  to  walk  in  it.  Go  to 
the  exalted  Saviour ;  tell  him  your  wants.  If  your 
heart  really  feels,  you  will  find  words  for  prayer. 
Your  words  may  be  few  and  broken;  but  they  are 
as  intelligible  as  the  cry  of  the  young  ravens,  and 
God  heareth  them.  He  understands  the  language 
of  the  heart,  and  never  rejects  it,  when  it  speaks 
in  desires  toward  himself  This  is  the  real  char- 
acter of  man.  As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so 
is  he.  Go  with  your  heart  to  God  the  Saviour. 
You  cannot  go  except  the  Spirit  lead  you.  When 
you  do  go,  it  is  the  blessed,  living  proof,  that  God 
is  teaching  and  guiding  you  for  himself,  with  a  di- 
vine power  which  can  never  fail.  Then  you  are 
no  longer  the  "  concision,"  rejected  with  evil 
workers,  and  with  dogs  who  are  without,  but  are 
the  true  circumcision,  worshipping  God  in  the 
Spirit,  rejoicing  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  having  no 
confidence  in  the  flesh. 


XXII. 


THE    TRUE    CIRCUMCISION. 


Phillippians  iii.  3. —  We  are  the  circumcision,  which  worship  God  in  the  Spirit, 
and  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  have  no  confidence  in  the  flesh. 

Three  marks  are  here  given  of  the  church  of  the 
living  God ;  spiritual  worship,  single  joy  in  Christ, 
and  total  renunciation  of  self.  They  are  the  desig- 
nations of  that  true  people,  who  are  the  habitation 
of  God  through  the  Spirit.  There  is  an  outward 
transitory  church  united  together  in  the  bonds  of 
external  profession  and  ordinances.  And  there  is 
a  spiritual,  living,  everlasting  church  bound  to- 
gether in  that  heavenly  fellowship  in  Christ,  which 
outward  ordinances  are  designed  to  illustrate. 
A  sacrament  is  defined  by  our  church  to  be  "  an 
outward  visible  sign  of  an  inward  spiritual  grace 
given  to  us."  The  union  in  the  outward  visible 
sign  indicates  the  visible  professing  church  of 
Christ.  The  possession  of  "  the  inward  spiritual 
grace"  distinguishes  the  spiritual  body,  which  is 
the  true  and  abiding  church.  If  these  two  went 
certainly  and  uniformly  together,  the  outward  and 


322  THE  TRUE   CIRCUMCISION. 

the  spiritual  church,  the  earthly  and  the  heavenly 
church,  would  be  always  precisely  the  same.  But 
our  church  teaches  us  from  the  Scriptures,  that 
there  is  no  indissoluble  union  between  these  two ; 
declaring,  in  the  25th  article,  that  "  in  such  only 
as  worthily  receive  the  sacraments,  have  they  a 
wholesome  effect  and  operation;"  and  announcing 
in  the  29th  article,  that  "  such  as  be  void  of  a  lively 
faith,  although  they  do  press  with  their  teeth,  the 
sacrament  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  yet  in 
no  wise  are  they  partakers  in  Christ ;"  and  in  our 
communion  office  teaching  us  to  pray  that  we  who 
shall  be  partakers  of  the  outward  rite,  "  may  also 
worthily  receive  the  most  precious  body  and  blood 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  be  filled  with  His  grace 
and  heavenly  benediction,  and  made  one  body 
with  Him,  so  that  He  may  dwell  in  us,  and  we  in 
Him;"  and  then  to  give  thanks,  that  the  due  re- 
ceiving these  holy  mysteries  is  the  assurance  that 
we  are  really  members  of  the  mystical  body  of  our 
Lord,  which  is  the  blessed  company  of  all  faithful 
people.  There  is,  then,  a  spiritual  church  which  is 
not  identical  with  the  outward  visible  church,  the 
graces  of  which,  outward  ordinances  are  intended 
to  signify,  and  to  a  participation  of  which  outward 
ordinances  are  designed  to  lead.  Just  the  relation 
which  the  scaffolding  sustains  to  the  building,  or 
the  portico  to  the  dwelling,  does  the  earthly  visi- 
ble church  sustain  to  this  spiritual,  abiding  church. 
Of  this  spiritual  church,  the  true  circumcision,  the 
characteristics  are  given  in  our  text. 

Having  considered  the  first  of  these  marks,  I 
purpose  now  to  pass  to  a  consideration  of  the  sec- 


THE  TRUE  CIRCUMCISION.  323 

ond, — Joy  in  Christ  Jesus.     The  true  people  of  God 
are  a  joyful  people.     Whatever  other  characteris- 
tics may  mark  their  condition,  their  joy  is  a  pecu- 
liar and  habitual  one.     "We  are  the  circumcision 
who    rejoice."      The    Epistle  from   which    these 
words  are  taken,  is  full  of  the  expressions  of  joy, 
as  the  mind  of  the  apostle  himself,  and  as  his  view 
of  the  becoming  spirit  for  those  to  whom  he  wrote. 
In  the   1st  chapter,  4th  verse,  he  tells  them  that 
in  every  prayer  of  his  for  them,  he  made  request 
with  joy.     In  the  18th  verse  he  declares  that  his 
present  state  was  rejoicing,  and   he  determined 
that  this  should  be  his  continuing  mind, — "  I  do 
rejoice,  yea,  and  I  will  rejoice."     In  the  2nd  chap- 
ter, 2nd  verse,  he  intreats  them  to  give  him  new 
reason  for  joy,  and  to  unite  with  him  in  the  same 
spirit :  "  Fulfil  ye  my  joy ;  be  like-minded,  having 
the  same  love,  being  of  one  accord,  of  one  mind." 
In  the  3rd  chapter,   1st  verse,  his  repeated  pre- 
cept is,    "  Finally,  brethren,  rejoice  in  the  Lord." 
In  the  4th  chapter,  4th  verse,  he  yet  again  en- 
forces the   same  precept :   "  Rejoice  in  the  Lord 
always :  and  again  I  say  Rejoice."     In  the   10th 
verse  he  announces  of  himself,  "  I  rejoiced  in  the 
Lord  greatly."     In  the   ISth  verse  he  says  again, 
"  I  have  all  and  abound ;  I  am  full ;  my  God  shall 
supply  all  your  need,  according  to  his  riches  in 
glory,  by  Christ  Jesus."     What  an  elevated,  pecu- 
liar mind  is  this  !    And  who  is  it  among  the  sons 
of  Adam  who  thus  writes  ?     Why,  mark    again, 
1st  chapter,  13th  verse,  he  is  a  prisoner  in  chains; 
a  prisoner  for  the  very  cause  in  which  he  thus  re- 
joices.    His  devotion  to  this  cause  has  already  cost 


324  THE  TRUE  CIRCUMCISION. 

him  the  loss  of  all  earthly  things.  "  My  bonds  in 
Christ  are  manifest  in  all  the  palace,  and  in  all 
other  places."  He  is  a  literary,  intelligent,  highly- 
educated,  refined  and  sensitive  man,  perfectly  in- 
nocent of  crime,  reduced  to  the  condition  of  a  con- 
vict in  public  degradation.  Whether  the  issue  of 
this  confinement  shall  be  liberty  or  public  execu- 
tion, he  declares  himself  wholly  unable  to  say. 
And  yet,  under  the  burden  of  this  suspense,  with 
the  most  fearful  shapes  of  death  before  him,  he 
says,  "  If  I  be  offered  a  sacrifice,  upon  the  service 
or  offering  of  your  faith,  I  joy  and  rejoice  with  you 
all."  What  strange  notes  of  music  are  these  to 
come  forth  from  a  dungeon's  walls  !  W^hat  a  strange 
condition  to  select,  as  an  illustration  of  the  power 
of  a  Christian's  joy  !  How  justly  may  the  man  who 
possesses  this  blessed  spirit, — who,  though  he  is 
left  without  earthly  sympathy,  and  must  say  of  his 
companions,  "  I  have  no  man  like-minded,  for  all 
seek  their  own,  not  the  things  which  are  Jesus 
Christ's,"  yet  can  also  say,  "  Not  that  I  speak  in 
respect  of  want,  for  I  have  learned  in  whatso- 
ever state  I  am,  therewith  to  be  content.  I  can 
do  all  things  through  Christ  that  strengtheneth 
me."  How  justly  may  he  say,  "We  are  the  cir- 
cumcision who  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus  !"  But  this 
joyful  spirit  was  not  peculiar  to  this  apostle.  It  is 
the  spirit  of  the  people  of  Christ ;  the  mind  which 
he  imparts  to  them,  and  the  duty  which  he  re- 
quires from  them,  in  the  exercise  of  this  imparted 
mind.  They  are  often  under  a  peculiar  pressure 
of  trials.  Deprivations  have  successively  swept 
away  precious  portions  of  their  earthly  inheritance. 


THE  TRUE  CIRCUMCISION.  325 

Sorrows  have  heaped  their  mountains  upon  their 
heads.  Clouds  and  darkness  have  shrouded  their 
earthly  prospects;  and  often  deep  midnight  in 
their  condition  makes  surrounding  landscapes  un- 
distinguishable  and  unnoticed.  And  yet  they  re- 
joice in  the  lot  of  their  inheritance.  Far  heavier 
burdens  have  been  removed,  and  far  deeper  sor- 
rows have  been  relieved,  and  strange  as  may  seem 
their  path  and  choice  to  those  who  have  never 
entered  into  their  secret  life,  the  reproach  of  Christ 
is  for  them  a  happier  portion  than  the  treasures  of 
the  world ;  and  the  afflictions  of  the  people  of  God 
have  attractions  far  transcending  the  temporary 
pleasures  of  sin.  They  groan  under  the  burden  of 
inward  guilt.  They  are  wearied  with  carrying 
within  them  a  body  of  death.  They  sigh  for  the 
final  conquest  over  enemies.  They  long  intensely 
for  an  abode  of  peace  ;  and  yet,  the  heart  that  is  thus 
sorrowful,  is  at  the  same  time,  and  notwithstanding 
this,  always  rejoicing.  This  is  at  once  a  privilege 
bestowed,  and  a  duty  required.  It  brings  before  us, 
therefore,  a  note  of  actual  character,  and  a  stand- 
ard for  trial.  Look  into  the  state  of  your  own 
minds.  Search  what  manner  of  spirits  ye  are  of. 
Do  you  find  an  inward  abiding  joy  as  your  portion  ? 
Have  you  an  actual  inheritance,  hedged  as  it  may 
be  with  thorns,  which  you  would  not  exchange 
for  all  the  mirth  of  earth's  prosperity,  and  all  the 
grandeur  of  its  gain  ?  Do  you  realize  the  duty  of 
being  happy ;  the  obligation,  as  well  as  the  privi- 
lege of  serving  the  Lord  without  fear,  and  walking 
before  him  with  a  free,  thankful,  and  happy  spirit  ? 
This  is  a  line  of  requirement  as  well  as  privilege. 


326  THE  TRUE   CIRCUMCISION. 

You  cannot  be  too  happy  in  the  service  of  the  Re- 
deemer ^vhom  you  love,  and  in  whom  you  believe. 
It  must  remain  ever  the  mark  of  his  people,  "  We 
are  the  circumcision  who  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus." 
It  is  joy  in  the  possession  of  a  peculiar  object,  a 
treasure  of  incalculable  and  inexhaustible  worth. 
We  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus.  The  peculiarity  here, 
is  in  the  object  selected.  All  joy  is  the  result  of 
the  possession  of  a  desired  object.  It  is  necessa- 
rily proportioned  to  the  estimation  which  is  formed 
and  cherished  of  the  object  desired.  The  be- 
stowal of  no  gift  would  promote  the  joy  of  him 
who  had  no  value  affixed  to  the  thing  received, 
and  no  adaptation  of  mind  and  feeling  to  its  pos- 
session. The  bird  who  scratched  the  rejected 
diamond  from  the  earth,  would  have  rejoiced  in 
the  finding  of  a  single  grain  of  corn.  The  people 
of  God  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus.  They  have  formed 
the  highest  conception  of  the  Saviour's  worth. 
They  see  in  the  revelation  of  Him,  the  attributes 
and  powers  which  are  most  of  all  desirable  and 
important  to  them.  When  therefore  He  is  actually 
bestowed  upon  them  as  their  own,  they  find  a  joy 
in  the  actual  possession  of  Him,  in  exact  proportion 
to  their  previous  estimation  of  His  excellence  and 
value.  This  is  the  uniform  measure  of  the  Christian's 
joy,  and  its  absence  accounts  most  justly  for  the 
fact,  that  so  many  professing  Christians  rejoice  so 
little.  The  single  question,  "  What  is  thy  Beloved 
more  than  another's  beloved  ?"  goes  to  the  root  of 
this  matter.  And  the  answer  of  the  mind  to  the 
demand,  will  measure  the  joy  of  the  heart  in  giv- 
ing it.     A  mere  teacher  of  duty,  a  revealer  of 


THE  TRUE  CIRCUMCISION.  327 

truth,  a  high  and  holy  pattern  of  human  excel- 
lence, will  command  the  homage  of  my  reason,  and 
compel  my  reverence  and  respect.  But  to  touch  my 
heart,  to  strike  the  deep  fountains  of  joy  which  lie 
buried  in  my  sluggish  spirit,  requires  something  far 
beyond  this.  And  because  so  many  see  nothing 
beyond  this  in  the  Lord  Jesus, — realize  no  per- 
sonal connection  between  Him  and  them, — under- 
stand no  special  needs  which  He  alone  can  heal, 
and  no  special  gifts  which  have  been  received 
from  Him  alone, — His  name  kindles  no  fire  in  their 
hearts,  and  the  glorious  excellence  of  Himself,  as 
a  possession,  excites  not  the  spirit  which  can 
say  "  Herein  I  do  rejoice,  yea,  and  I  will  re- 
joice." 

But  O,  how  different  is  the  estimation  of  the 
true  people  of  God  !  In  their  view,  the  Saviour  is 
chief  among  ten  thousand,  and  altogether  lovely : 
and  when  the  divine  gift  makes  this  Saviour  their 
own  portion  forever,  their  joy  in  the  possession  is 
in  proportion  to  their  measurement  of  His  worth. 
They  rejoice  in  what  he  is  in  Himself,  and  in  what 
He  has  become  to  them.  A  load  of  just  condemnation 
rested  upon  them,  and  He  assumed  the  burden  upon 
Himself,  and  said  "  Spare  them,  for  I  have  found  a 
ransom."  Everlasting  death  was  the  wages  of 
their  sin ;  and  He,  by  His  own  death,  abolished 
death,  and  him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  and 
delivered  them  who,  through  fear  of  death,  were 
held  in  bondage.  Total  destitution  of  merit  and 
obedience  shut  them  out  from  the  presence  of  a 
Holy  God,  and  He  was  made  under  the  law  for 
them,  fulfilled  its  righteousness  in  their  behalf,  and 


328  THE   TRUE   CIRCUMCISION. 

proclaimed  peace  from  God  to  them  who  were  afar 
off.  Continued  weakness  exposes  them  to  the 
power  of  every  enemy.  But  He  is  head  over  all 
things  for  them,  and  will  suffer  no  one  to  pluck 
them  out  of  His  hand.  Their  Redeemer  is  mighty, 
and  ever  liveth,  al3le  to  save  unto  the  uttermost, 
those  who  come  unto  God  through  Him.  But  who 
is  this?  And  what  is  their  Beloved  more  than  an- 
other's beloved  ?  He  is  God  manifest  in  the  flesh. 
He  is  the  High  and  Lofty  One  who  inhabiteth 
eternity,  dwelling  in  a  lowly  and  contrite  man. 
He  is  the  Great  Jehovah,  who  filleth  all  things,  in 
the  likeness  of  a  suffering,  dying  man.  He  is  Je- 
sus, because  he  is  a  Saviour.  He  is  Christ,  because 
he  has  been  anointed  for  this  mighty  work,  and 
accepted  and  crowned  for  its  triumphant  comple- 
tion. 

O,  there  is  a  power  here  to  arouse  the  deepest 
and  the  most  abiding  joy.  And  when  the  sinner 
sees  the  sacrifice  upon  the  cross ;  and  the  guilty 
reads  the  pardon  written  there  in  atoning  blood ; 
and  the  creature  is  brought,  in  all  his  weakness,  to 
the  very  throne  of  the  Creator;  and  the  dying 
rebel  is  made  to  see  that  he  is  a  living  son ;  and 
the  dungeon  is  closed,  and  the  home  of  peace  in- 
vites him  to  an  immortal  dwelling-place  with  God 
as  his  Father;  then  the  soul  becomes  fledged  with 
wings  of  rapture ;  and  an  angel's  tongue  seems 
feeble,  to  tell  the  unutterable  blessings  which  it 
has  received,  in  this  amazing  God-man,  who  has 
brought  it  into  communion  with  Himself,  and  made 
it  one  with  Him,  in  destiny  and  hope  forever.  It 
is  joy  in  Christ  Jesus; — ^joy  that  there  is  such  a 


THE  TRUE  CIRCUMCISION.  329 

being ; — ^joy  that  God  and  man  are  thus  united  for 
the  salvation  of  a  perishing  race  ; — ^joy  that  He  has 
finished  the  work  which  was  given  Him  to  do ; — 
joy  that  He  remains  the  same,  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  forever.  Every  testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  the  word,  to  His  excellence  in  majesty  and 
power;  every  revelation  of  the  riches  of  divine 
grace  and  glory  in  Him;  every  verse  of  Sacred 
Scripture  which  assures  of  His  ability  to  save, 
His  love  for  sinners,  and  His  everlasting  life  for 
the  benefit  of  His  people ;  awakens  and  increases 
this  joy.  And  when  the  Bible  speaks  of  Him  in  se- 
cret, and  when  the  living  ambassador  proclaims  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  His  grace, — ^joy,  new  joy, 
— real,  increasing,  flowing  joy,  comes  in  upon  the 
soul  of  the  child  of  God ;  and  he  realizes  the  truth 
of  the  testimony,  "  We  are  the  circumcision,  which 
rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus."  No  other  intelligence 
sweeps  the  cords  of  his  heart  with  such  a  master 
hand.  No  other  name  sends  a  thrill  like  this 
throughout  his  reviving  soul.  The  annunciation 
of  no  other  being  so  awakens  his  affections,  to  go 
forth  in  bands,  to  meet  the  approaching  guest,  and 
make  him  welcome. 

But  we  take  a  step  beyond  this,  when  we  say  it 
is  not  only  joy  in  what  Christ  is,  but  also  joy  in 
what  He  is  to  us.  "  We  are  the  circumcision,  who 
rejoice  i7i  Christ  Jesus."  That  is,  not  only  in  Him 
as  an  object,  but  iti  Him,  as  our  own  condition,  in 
our  relation  to  Him,  our  interest  in  Him,  our  por- 
tion with  Him.  This  seems  at  once  and  evidently, 
necessary  to  make  the  former  point  complete. 
How  can  I  rejoice  in  an  object  which  is  in  no  de- 


330  THE  TRUE   CIRCUMCISION. 

gree  my  own  ?  an  object  in  which  I  have  no  par- 
ticipation ?  While  I  am  perishing  in  poverty,  can 
I  rejoice  in  the  wealth  which  is  pouring  into  the 
rich  man's  doors,  who  dwells  by  my  side  ?  When 
my  strength  is  famished,  and  my  marrow  dried  up 
with  hunger,  can  I  rejoice  in  the  fulness  of  bread 
which  I  see  loading  the  table  of  another,  of  which 
no  crumb  is  imparted  to  me  1  As  well,  then,  might 
there  be  joy  in  hell,  when  sinners  are  saved,  as 
in  heaven,  of  which  they  are  to  partake.  The 
people  of  God  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus,  because  He 
is  their  own.  The  Holy  Spirit  in  his  gracious 
ministrations,  has  taken  of  His  gifts,  and  shown 
them  unto  them,  and  made  them  to  discern  them, 
as  the  things  which  are  freely  given  them  of  God. 
They  realize  their  right  to  love  Him,  and  to  enjoy 
His  love,  as  the  gift  of  God  to  lost  sinners,  to  be 
as  complete  as  their  right  to  the  rain  and  the  sun- 
shine of  the  heavens.  They  hesitate  not  con- 
stantly to  improve  and  enjoy  this  right,  to  which 
they  are  so  freely  and  urgently  invited  by  Him- 
self. The  blessed  Spirit  in  the  written  word, 
calls  and  promises,  and  offers  gifts  which  are  with- 
out repentance  to  all  who  will  receive  them. 
And  as  they  read  and  meditate  upon  these  free 
and  gracious  provisions  of  love  for  man,  there  is  a 
secret  witness  in  their  heart,  which  testifies  all 
these  are  theirs ;  and  they  are  conscious  of  that 
feeling  towards  them,  and  of  that  real  interest  in 
them,  which  is  only  to  be  awakened  by  the  pos- 
session of  things  which  are  our  own.  This  is  the 
work  of  the  Spirit  writing  the  testimony  of  Christ 
upon  the   heart.     They  look   back   to  the  time, 


THE   TRUE   CIRCUMCISION.  331 

when,  from  their  condition  of  vohmtary  unbelief 
and  selfish  love  of  the  world,  they  were  brought 
as  sinners,  condemned  and  helpless,  to  the  Sa- 
viour's feet.  They  realize,  that,  however  infirm 
and  sinful  they  still  are,  a  mighty  change  has  been 
wrought  within  them,  which  is  not  of  the  flesh, 
nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God.  They  have 
hopes,  and  sensibilities,  and  fears,  and  desires, 
and  purposes,  to  which  their  nature  was  an  entire 
stranger.  They  have  had  conquests  wrought  in 
them,  and  over  them,  which  they  have  never 
achieved  for  themselves.  They  have  a  hatred  of 
transgression,  and  a  love  and  desire  for  conformity 
to  God,  which  no  enemy  to  God  could  ever  have 
bestowed  upon  them.  They  are  really  leaning 
upon  Christ,  and  hoping  in  Him  alone.  They 
pray,  and  read,  and  hear,  as  they  once  could  not. 
The  great  treasure  for  which  they  continually 
long,  is  that  glorious  Saviour  Himself,  v.'hose  beauty 
they  have,  in  some  degree,  seen  in  the  sanctuary. 
O  could  they  live  wholly  by  faith,  dead  to  eartli, 
and  the  world  dead  to  them,  it  would  be  all  their 
desire,  and  the  very  joy  of  their  hearts !  Blessed 
testimony,  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  with  their 
spirits,  that  they  are  the  children  of  God !  But 
who  hath  wrought  all  this?  Who  visited  them 
when  they  were  afar  off,  and  sought  them  when 
they  were  lost,  and  has  taught  them  all  their 
need,  and  made  them  to  desire  the  full  riches  of 
his  power  and  glory  ?  It  is  Christ,  and  Christ 
alone,  that  their  souls  hang  themselves  upon.  They 
put  every  crown  upon  Him,  and  ascribe  to  Him  all 
the  glory ;  and  while  they  hope  in  His  everlasting 


332  THE  TRUE  CIRCUMCISION. 

righteousness  and  power,  and  look  for  the  time 
when  they  shall  see  Him  as  He  is,  their  joy  is  in 
Him  alone,  thus  made  unto  them  of  God  wisdom, 
and  righteousness,  and  sanctification,  and  redemp- 
tion. They  are  able  to  say  with  entire  sincerity, 
My  Beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am  His.  Realizing  the 
spiritual  origin  of  this  single  joy  in  Christ  Jesus,  as 
the  gift  of  His  grace,  and  the  work  of  His  Spirit, 
they  can  humbly,  but  justly,  unite  with  the  testi- 
mony of  the  apostle,  "We  are^the  circumcision, 
which  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus." 

This  is  a  note  of  spiritual  character,  and  a  stand- 
ard for  personal  trial.  Are  we  thus  living  upon 
Christ  ?  Is  He  our  bread,  our  meat,  our  living  foun- 
tain ?  When  we  are  happy,  are  we  happy  in  Him  ? 
Can  anything  make  us  happy  when  He  is  absent  ? 
How  wretched  and  transitory  will  be  all  other  joy 
but  this  !  Our  brightest  pleasures,  our  richest  gains, 
will  be  but  the  winding  sheet  of  bitter,  piercing 
recollections  around  our  lonely,  guilty  spirits, 
when  God  calls  us  to  His  throne,  if  we  have  not 
this  joy  in  Christ.  They  will  not  have  perished, 
but  they  will  have  become  the  embers  of  an  eter- 
nal fire,  which  the  judgment  of  the  Most  High 
shall  fan  into  an  instant  and  unending  flame.  O 
how  great  is  tlie  folly  of  the  joys  of  earth  as  they 
are  seen  and  examined,  in  the  long-told  expe- 
rience of  eternity  !  What  is  the  hope  of  the  sinner, 
though  he  hath  gained,  when  God  taketh  away 
his  soul  ?  Consider  this,  ye  that  forget  God,  lest 
He  take  you  away  in  his  vengeance,  when  none 
can  deliver  you.  What  will  you  do — what  can 
you  do,  without  a  sure  possession  in  Christ  Jesus, 
when  God  maketh  inquisition  for  your  sins  ? 


XXIII. 


THE    TRUE    CIRCUMCISION. 


Philippians  iii.  3. —  We  are  tfw  circumcision,  %ohich  worship  God  in  the  Spirit, 
and  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  have  no  confidence  in  the  fi^sh. 

The  third  mark  of  the  spiritual  church  of  God 
is  the  point  which  is  oifered  to  our  present  con- 
sideration. It  is  a  total  renunciation  of  self, — "  We 
have  no  confidence  in  the  flesh."  It  is  hardly  ne- 
cessary to  dwell  much  upon  the  fact  that  the  term 
jiesli  here,  can  have  no  limited  reference  to  the 
material  body  of  man.  It  describes  his  whole 
natural  condition  as  a  sinful  fallen  being-.  It  in- 
cludes all  possible  advantages  and  benefits  which 
may  arise  from  this  state,  through  the  exercise  of 
its  own  powers  merely,  or  by  any  attainment  of  its 
own  wisdom  and  strength.  Whatever  appertains 
peculiarly  to  man's  mortal  condition,  or  is  a  part 
of  man's  present  state  of  being,  either  as  an  inher- 
ited, or  as  an  acquired  advantage,  must  be  consid- 
ered as  constituting  a  part  of  that  concrete  charac- 
ter which  St.  Paul  here  calls  the  flesh,  and  all 
confidence  in  which  he  entirely  renounces,  in  the 


334  THE  TRUE   CIRCUMCISION. 

name  of  the  true  circumcision,  the  real  people  of 
God.  He  explains  his  meaning  of  the  term  very 
much  at  large,  in  the  several  succeeding  verses, — 
"  Though  I  might  also  have  confidence  in  the  flesh. 
If  any  other  man  thinketh  that  he  hath  whereof 
he  might  trust  in  the  flesh,  I  more :  circumcised 
the  eighth  day,  of  the  stock  of  Israel,  of  the  tribe 
of  Benjamin,  an  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews;  as 
touching  the  law,  a  Pharisee;  concerning  zeal, 
persecuting  the  church ;  touching  the  righteousness 
which  is  in  the  law,  blameless.  But  what  things 
were  gain  to  me,  those  I  counted  loss  for  Christ." 
In  his  view,  whatever  might  be  considered  gain  to 
man,  in  his  natural  condition,  as  a  sinful  being, 
alienated  from  God,  and  without  hope  in  Him,  was 
a  part  of  the  flesh  which  was  to  be  renounced,  by 
the  heart  which  would  truly  worship  God  in  the 
Spirit,  or  really  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus.  It  is  not, 
then,  man's  dying  body  in  opposition  to  his  undy- 
ing soul,  which  is  to  be  given  up ;  but  man's  own 
attainments,  character  and  possessions,  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  gifts  of  the  grace  of  God.  "  What  things 
were  gain  to  me,  those  I  counted  loss  for  Christ." 
It  is  man's  own  self  in  opposition  to  an  offered  and 
provided  Saviour ;  and  this  total  renunciation  of 
self,  as  a  foundation  for  confidence  in  his  religious 
hopes  and  prospects,  becomes  with  spiritual  wor- 
ship and  single  joy  in  Christ,  the  peculiar  mark 
and  characteristic  of  the  people  of  God.  They 
have  no  confidence  in  the  flesh. 

To  consider  this  subject  adequately,  we  may 
regard  it  in  a  retrospective  and  a  prospective  view. 
In  looking  back  upon  life  that  is  past,  the  true 


THE   TRUE   CIRCUMCISION.  335 

circumcision  liave  no  confidence  in  the  flesh.  They 
wholly  renounce  all  that  is  their  own,  as  a  founda- 
tion for  hope  of  acceptance  before  God.  In  look- 
ing forward  to  the  life  which  is  to  come,  and  the 
duties  which  are  yet  to  be  performed,  as  the  ser- 
vants and  subjects  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  they  have 
no  confidence  in  the  flesh.  They  wholly  renounce 
all  strength  and  power  of  their  own  as  the  means 
by  which  they  may  obey  the  will  of  God.  There 
is  much  in  these  two  views  to  attract  the  confi- 
dence of  man  toward  works  of  his  own ;  and  the 
unrenewed  in  heart,  ignorant  of  the  perfect  holi- 
ness of  God,  and  of  the  deceitfulness  and  plague 
of  their  own  nature,  are  deluded  to  place  all  their 
confidence  in  the  works  and  power  of  self, — in  the 
flesh.  They  accordingly  walk  and  live  wholly  by 
sight  and  sense,  and  not  by  faith. 

Confidence  in  the  flesh  is  confidence  in  the  works 
of  unregenerate  man  as  in  some  degree  valuable 
and  acceptable  in  his  relation  to  God.  This  sys- 
tem of  judgment  looks  upon  two  men  who  are 
equally,  by  their  own  confession,  still  unconverted 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  whose  life  and  character 
have  been  marked  by  very  different  measures  of 
outward  transgression,  and  are,  therefore,  desig- 
nated by  very  different  epithets  among  men,  as 
standing  also  in  very  different  corresponding  rela- 
tions to  God.  It  supposes,  if  they  should  both  be- 
come renewed  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  one  would 
have  far  more  that  was  excellent  to  bring  to  God, 
and  far  less  to  renounce  before  God,  than  the  other  : 
the  one  would  possess  works  upon  which  he  might 
look    back  with    some    degree    of  satisfaction  as 


336  THE  TRUE  CIRCUMCISION. 

something  of  his  own  of  value  in  the  Divine  eye, 
of  which  the  other  was  wholly  destitute.  And 
though  it  might  hesitate,  perhaps,  to  call  this,  actual 
merit  in  the  sight  of  God,  it  would  not  hesitate  to 
feel  that  it  was  a  measure  of  excellence  which  was 
to  be  regarded,  and  which  God  certainly  would 
not  despise.  It  would  view  this  supposed  personal 
excellence  as  a  lessening,  in  some  degree,  the  ac- 
tual dependence  upon  grace,  and  an  attainment  of 
something  that  went  greatly  toward  the  salvation 
of  the  soul ;  so  that  such  a  man  might  feel  justly 
thankful  that  he  needed  less  to  be  forgiven,  and 
was  therefore  under  less  obligation  to  Divine 
mercy  than  another  who  was  more  manifestly 
guilty  in  human  eyes,  and  whose  character  was 
registered  in  far  deeper  lines  of  apparent  depravity 
among  men.  From  such  a  view  of  the  character 
of  man,  the  true  circumcision  separate  themselves 
entirely.  All  the  merit  and  excellence  of  the 
works  of  nature  they  utterly  renounce.  What- 
ever has  been  the  restraint  or  the  regularity  of 
their  unconverted  life,  however  removed  from  the 
stains  of  disgraceful  guilt,  or  the  pollutions  of  open 
profligacy,  they  feel  themselves  to  be  wholly  des- 
titute of  any  works  which  God  can  accept  or  re- 
gard in  his  judgment  of  them.  They  see  in  them- 
selves secret  sins  enough  to  overbalance  this  sup- 
posed freedom  from  outward  transgressions.  They 
are  consciously  shut  out  from  all  thoughts  of  a 
boastful  character  as  they  compare  themselves 
with  other  men.  They  are  brought  to  the  seat  of 
Divine  mercy,  the  throne  of  grace,  in  the  mere  at- 
titude of  needy  suppliants,  imploring  the  exercise 


THE  TRUE   CIRCUMCISION.  337 

of  love  which  they  could  never  have  deserved,  and 
mercy  of  which  they  feel  themselves  to  be  alto- 
gether unworthy.  At  this  point  of  their  history, 
in  an  utter  death  to  sin  and  self,  they  cast  them- 
selves upon  the  boundless  compassion  of  God  to 
the  guilty,  seeing  in  themselves  nothing  but  guilt; 
and  every  thought  and  feeling  of  their  souls  unites 
in  the  solemn  confession  before  God, — We  have  no 
confidence  in  the  flesh. 

Confidence  in  the  flesh  again  assumes  a  more 
refined  position  than  this.  If  there  be  nothing  in 
unregenerate  man,  actually  acceptable  to  God,  so 
that  he  is  wholly  a  sinner  in  the  Divine  eye,  there 
is  surely  a  character  in  returning,  penitent  man, 
which  is  to  be  regarded  and  valued.  When  he 
acknowledges  his  transgressions,  and  with  a  heavy 
and  mourning  spirit,  comes  to  ask  forgiveness  of 
his  sins,  there  must  be  a  worth  in  his  repentance, 
in  which  he  may,  in  some  degree,  be  allowed  to 
rest.  The  more  he  grieves  and  suffers  in  sorrow 
for  sin,  certainly  the  more  acceptable  he  must  be 
in  the  sight  of  God.  The  tears  he  sheds,  and  the 
sighs  and  groans  he  utters,  must  have  a  value  be- 
fore God,  which  is  not  to  be  rejected,  or  put  out  of 
view.  Thus  this  self-confiding  spirit  argues.  And, 
accordingly,  it  measures  the  right  to  hope  for  par- 
don by  the  extent  of  conscious  suffering  for  sin, 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  drives  to  a  despair  of  for- 
giveness those  whose  hearts  are  less  moved,  and 
the  fountains  of  whose  sorrows  seem  less  deeply 
opened.  It  is  willing  to  renounce  all  excellence 
of  previous  character ;  but  it  makes  a  righteous- 
ness out  of  sorrow  for  sin,  which  it  was  unable  to 

15 


338  THE  TRUE  CIRCUMCISION. 

form  out  of  apparent  separation  from  sin.     Instead 
of  bringing  the  soul  directly  to  the  completely  fin- 
ished work  of  the  divine  Lord,  to  find  all  its  hope, 
and  all  its  reasons  for  hope,  in  that  which  he  has 
done,  it  teaches  man  that  the  reason  for  his  par- 
don is  in  his  own  repentance.     It  turns  him  away 
from  Jesus  to  look  upon  himself     It  makes  all  his 
inward,  religious  character,  to  consist,  not  in  the 
resting  of  his  soul  upon  the  glorious  sufficiency  of 
a  Saviour,  but  in  the  changing  states  and  feelings 
of  his  own  experience,  the  ebbing  and  flowing  of 
the  tides  of  his  own  emotions.     All  this  is  as  cer- 
tainly confidence  in  the  flesh,  as  the  resting  of  the 
soul  for  hope  upon  previous  works  of  righteousness 
which  we  have  done,  in  our  natural  state,  and  by 
our  natural  strength.     The  true  circumcision  en- 
tirely renounce   it.     However  deeply  and  really 
they  mourn  under  the  burden  of  their  guilt,  they 
feel  themselves  in  no  degree  the  better  because 
they  are   sorrowful,  or  having  the  more  right  to 
hope  because  their  spirits  are  broken  and  contrite. 
They  fly  from  their  repentance  as  cordially  as  they 
fly  from  their  sins.     They  still  desire  and  seek  to 
think  only  of  a  Saviour's  finished  righteousness  and 
power,  as  the  reason  for  God's  mercy  to  them. 
The  burden  of  their  prayer  is  not.  Look  upon  our 
sorrow,  for  it  is  great,  but,  Look  upon  the  face  of 
thine  anointed,  O  Lord,  and  have  mercy  upon  us, 
for  we  have  no  confidence  in  the  flesh. 

But  confidence  in  the  flesh  travels  far  beyond 
this.  Is  man  never  improving  in  the  sight  of  God  ? 
it  asks.  Allow  his  unregenerate  life  to  be  nothing, 
and  his  sorrow  for  its  guilt,  and  his  amendment  of 


THE   TRUE  CIRCUMCISION.  *  339 

personal  character  to  be  of  no  worth  ?  Surely, 
when  he  has  pressed  forward  in  the  path  of  life, 
and  has  received  the  gifts,  and  brought  forth  the 
fruits  of  the  Spirit — when  his  life  is  adorned  with 
all  the  graces  of  a  divine  character,  and  is  closely 
conformed  to  Him  who  was  holy,  harmless,  unde- 
filed,  and  separate  from  sinners, — when  the  irrita- 
ble passions  of  his  corrupt  nature  have  been  sub- 
dued, and  his  soul  becomes  matured  for  glory,  and 
meet  for  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light, — 
then  there  must  be  something  in  him  which  is 
praiseworthy  and  excellent.  You  will  not  say  of 
such  an  one,  whose  mind  is  so  irradiated  with 
truth,  and  whose  affections  are  so  engaged  in  the 
single  worship  and  love  of  God,  that  he  is  nothing 
still  ?  Beloved,  what  shall  we  reply  to  a  demand 
like  this  ?  Surely,  only  that  which  St.  Paul  avows, 
"  I  know  that  in  me,  that  is,  in  my  flesh,  dwelleth 
no  good  thing :" — "  Not  as  though  I  had  already  at- 
tained, either  were  already  made  perfect,  but  this 
one  thing  I  do,  forgetting  those  things  which  are 
behind,  and  reaching  forth  unto  those  things  which 
are  before,  I  press  toward  the  mark,  for  the  prize 
of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus."  The 
true  circumcision  are  perfectly  settled  in  mind 
upon  this  great  subject.  Though  in  the  view  of 
others  they  may  be  rich  in  good  works,  in  their 
own  view  they  are  destitute,  unholy,  and  unclean. 
They  turn  from  everything  that  is  their  own  in 
their  last  hour,  just  as  anxiously  as  they  did  in 
their  first.  Their  consciousness  of  sin  deepens  and 
extends,  in  the  degree  in  which  they  grow  up  in 
the  likeness  of  God.     They  undoubtedly  discern 


340  '  THE   TRUE   CIRCUMCISION. 

a  gracious  improvement  in  their  own  character, 
but  they  also  discern  deeper  and  more  hidden 
evils  lying  uncorrected  still.  Their  need  for 
mercy  to  unrighteousness,  and  of  grace  for  guilt, 
is  still  entire.  The  works  of  the  Divine  Spirit  in 
them,  so  far  as  they  proceed  from  Him,  are  perfect. 
But  even  all  these  are  corrupted  and  perverted  by 
their  owai  selfishness  and  sin ;  and,  so  far  as  they 
become  their  own  works,  are  feeble  and  worthless. 
Looking  at  the  whole  history  of  life,  from  its  be- 
ginning to  its  close,  they  feel  this  humbling  view 
of  their  own  character  to  be  the  state  of  mind 
which  is  divinely  wrought  in  them.  They  strive 
for  a  spirit  of  total  renunciation  of  self.  They  are 
constrained  to  say,  and  they  feel  able  to  say.  We 
are  the  circumcision,  which  have  no  confidence  in 
the  flesh.  Their  own  works  furnish  neither  foun- 
dation for  hope,  nor  reason  for  hope ;  but  simply 
evidences  to  others  that  they  are  really  possessors 
of  a  lively  and  glorious  hope,  a  hope  which  is  given 
to  them  freely,  in  the  death  and  resurrection  of 
their  glorious  Lord.  The  testimony  of  this  hope 
to  themselves  is  in  the  witness  of  His  Spirit,  bear- 
ing witness  with  their  spirit,  and  leading  them  to 
the  very  state  of  mind  which  is  described  by  the 
apostle  in  these  words,  "  Worshipping  God  in  the 
Spirit,  rejoicing  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  having  no  con- 
fidence in  the  flesh." 

Confidence  in  the  flesh  takes  a  prospective  view 
of  duty  to  be  performed,  as  well  as  a  retrospective 
view  of  duty  already  fulfilled.  In  looking  forward 
to  future  duty,  it  magnifies  the  sufficiency  of  hu- 
man strength,  exalts  the  power  of  man's  own  re- 


THE  TRUE  CIRCUMCISION.  341 

sistance  of  evil,  and  leads  to  promises  and  resolu- 
tions of  duty  rather  than  to  simple  believing,  self- 
renouncing  prayer  for  strength,  and  renewal  from 
God  alone.  Ignorant  of  the  entire  weakness  of 
man,  and  of  the  strength  of  the  evils  which  beset 
him,  it  forms  future  plans  of  conduct  and  life  with- 
out reference  to  the  fact  that  all  our  sufficiency  for 
good  is  from  God ;  that  He  must  work  all  our  works 
within  us,  if  they  are  to  be  honorable  or  accepta- 
ble to  Him.  Its  uniform  result  is,  therefore,  w-oful 
disappointment,  discouragement,  and  despondency. 
The  mountain  which  stood  so  strong  on  one  day, 
on  the  next  is  completely  and  easily  overthrown. 
The  enemy  has  come  on  so  fast,  and  so  powerfully, 
that  all  resistance  has  proved  in  vain.  The  man 
whose  resolutions  were  formed  with  sincere  deter- 
mination, finds  himself  shattered  and  despairing, 
under  the  discovered  and  fearful  power  of  the  evil 
within.  How  much  disappointment  and  distress 
arises  from  this  vain  confidence  in  the  power  of  the 
flesh,  many  of  you  may  bitterly  feel.  We  have  not 
room  here  particularly  to  describe  it.  This  wdiole 
spirit  and  mind,  the  true  circumcision  entirely  re- 
nounce. They  are  taught,  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  to 
realize  that  their  strength  is  all  in  God.  Their  life 
and  powder  are  hidden  with  Him.  They  conquer  by 
faith  and  prayer.  They  cast  themselves,  in  con- 
scious w^eakness,  upon  Him  wdio  is  mighty  to  save. 
They  feel  His  strength  made  perfect  in  their  weak- 
ness. In  humble  confidence,  they  repose  upon  His 
sufficiency,  and  rely  upon  his  leading  and  guidance. 
While  they  do  this  they  walk  forward  in  peaceful- 
ness  and  security.     The  everlasting  arms  are  un- 


342  THE  TRUE   CIRCUMCISION. 

der  them;  and  the  power  of  God  is  abundantly 
competent  to  overrule  and  protect  them.  Their 
hope  of  perseverance  is  founded  upon  the  certainty 
of  the  Divine  promise.  God  hath  made  an  ever- 
lasting covenant  with  them,  in  all  things  well- 
ordered  and  sure.  He  must  be  true.  He  cannot, 
therefore,  fail  them  or  forsake  them.  He  that  hath 
begun  a  good  work  in  them,  will  carry  it  on,  unto 
the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  In  looking  forward  to 
eternity,  they  hope,  in  the  enjoyment  often  of  a 
bright  and  glorious  hope.  But  it  is  wholly  resting 
upon  what  God  is  able  to  do  for  them,  who  hath 
himself  become  their  salvation,  and  bids  them  to 
look  unto  Him,  and  trust,  and  not  be  afraid.  As 
each  day  of  their  pilgrimage  successively  passes 
away,  they  feel  themselves  secretly  and  blessedly 
upheld,  by  a  Divine  power  which  is  all-sufficient 
for  their  need,  ever  flowing  in  for  their  comfort, 
and  constantly  sustaining  and  encouraging  them  in 
the  race  in  which  they  are  engaged.  As  they  look 
forward  to  future  duties,  and  future  trials,  they  are 
still  confident,  quietly  hoping  and  waiting  for  the 
salvation  of  God ;  sure  that  every  day  will  as  cer- 
tainly bring  its  grace  as  its  cares,  and  its  gifts  as 
its  demands.  There  is  a  living  power  in  this  trust- 
ing, self-renouncing  spirit,  which  is  perfectly  elas- 
tic under  all  the  burdens  of  life ;  lifting  up  the 
heart  in  joy  and  peace  amidst  all  its  trials;  and 
causing  the  weary  and  heavy  laden  to  sing  for  joy, 
in  the  assurance  that  He  who  hath  loved  them  and 
given  Himself  for  them,  will  give  them  the  victory. 
This  total  renunciation  of  self,  and  of  human  power, 
brings  them  directly  to  the  throne  of  God ;  gives 


THE  TRUE  CIRCUMCISION.  343 

them  spiritual  fellowship  with  Him,  and  marks 
them,  in  their  own  experience,  as  the  true  circum- 
cision which  worship  God  in  the  Spirit,  rejoice  in 
Christ  Jesus,  and  have  no  confidence  in  the  flesh. 
You  must  receive  this  last  characteristic,  my 
friends,  not  only  as  a  standard  for  examination,  but 
also  as  a  guide  in  the  path  of  truth  and  duty.  If 
you  are  the  people  of  God,  the  living  members  of 
His  dear  Son,  this  will  be  the  state  of  your  mind  and 
feeling.  As  the  work  of  grace  is  carried  on  within 
you,  this  state  of  mind  and  feeling  will  become  still 
more  deeply  fixed  and  settled,  as  the  controlling 
influence  upon  your  heart.  You  will  discern  the 
emptiness  and  worthlessness  of  all  your  own  works 
and  powers.  You  will  cease  from  man,  and  learn 
to  live  alone  upon  the  grace,  and  goodness,  and 
faithfulness  of  God.  If  you  desire  to  be  registered 
among  the  people  of  God,  thus  only  will  you  find 
the  way  of  peace.  You  have  no  offerings  to  bring; 
no  righteousness  of  your  own ;  nothing  but  guilt 
to  be  pardoned,  weakness  to  be  upheld,  and  igno- 
rance to  be  enlightened.  In  this  emptiness  of 
spirit  you  may  come,  and  rest  yourselves  fully  and 
confidently  upon  that  which  has  been  done  for  you. 
Come  freely ;  come  confidently ;  come  cheerfully ; 
come  at  once.  The  Lord  waiteth  that  he  may  be 
gracious  unto  you,  and  have  compassion  upon  you. 
There  is  no  obstacle  in  your  path,  and  no  reason  why 
you  should  delay  in  thus  coming  to  an  anointed  Sav- 
iour, but  your  own  aversion  to  God.  Cast  that  away 
and  come.  Whatever  may  be  your  reflections 
upon  the  guilt  of  your  past  character,  or  your  con- 
sciousness of  the  weakness  of  your  present  state. 


344  THE  TRUE   CIRCUMCISION. 

let  nothing  be  perverted  into  an  argument  for  de- 
lay. The  invitations  and  offers  of  the  gospel  are 
so  perfectly  free,  so  unclogged  with  any  condi- 
tions, that  you  have  but  to  feel  and  confess  your 
deep  and  heartfelt  need,  and  take  the  cup  of  sal- 
vation, and  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord.  O 
let  the  arguments  of  divine  truth,  and  the  power 
of  divine  grace,  prevail  with  you.  Let  your 
weary  and  burdened  spirits  rejoice  to  repose  them- 
selves, as  the  true  circumcision  of  God,  upon  One 
so  mighty  and  all-sufficient  to  save. 


XXIV. 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK, 


St.  Matthew,  vii.,  24,  25. —  Therefore  whosoever  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine 
and  doeth  them,  I  will  liken  him  unto  a  wise  man,  which  built  his  house  upon 
a  rock ;  and  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and 
beat  upon  tliat  house,  and  it  fell  not,  for  it  was  founded  upon  a  rock. 

"  I  WILL  liken  him  unto  a  wise  man.^^  And  who 
among  men  is  not  anxious  to  appropriate  this  title  ? 
To  confide  in  his  own  Avisdom,  to  exalt  the  claims 
of  his  own  intellectual  powers,  to  magnify  the  suf- 
ficiency of  his  own  reason,  to  deny  the  authority 
of  others,  in  questions  presented  to  his  own  judg- 
ment and  decision — are  habits  and  traits  of  char- 
acter perfectly  natural  to  man.  God  has  bestowed 
the  powers  of  understanding  and  judgment  upon 
men,  as  the  distinction  of  their  race,  and  He  deals 
with  them,  and  addresses  them  upon  the  ground 
of  this  distinction.  He  makes  them  accountable  for 
their  own  conduct.  He  demands  of  them,  as  ra- 
tional and  responsible  beings,  why  of  their  own 
selves  they  do  not  judge  what  is  right. 

But  every  day's  experience  shows  a  moral  per- 

15* 


346         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

version  in  man,  which  overrules  his  convictions  of 
right,  and  brings  him  a  willing  captive  under  the 
power  of  conscious  sin  ;  which  leads  him  to  estab- 
lish a  standard  of  wisdom,  far  different  from  the 
judgment  of  God,  and  deludes  him  into  the  sacri- 
fice of  unseen  and  eternal  things,  of  inestimable 
value,  for  acknowledged  trifles,  which  are  seen  and 
temporal.  God's  decision  of  real,  practical  wisdom 
is  most  distinct  and  intelligible  :  ''  The  fear  of  the 
Lord,  that  is  wisdom,  and  the  knowledge  of  the 
Holy  One,  that  is  understanding."  True  piety, 
formed  in  a  cordial  acceptance  of  the  offers  of  the 
divine  revelation,  and  growing  up  in  an  affectionate 
obedience  of  God's  perfect  will,  is  wisdom,  real 
wisdom  in  the  estimation  of  heaven.  The  conver- 
sion of  the  heart  by  the  Divine  Spirit  is  its  com- 
mencement— the  life  of  faith,  in  submission  to  God, 
its  consequence — the  crown  of  glory,  in  the  presence 
of  a  Saviour,  its  unchanging  result.  This  is  the 
divine  judgment.  But  how  different  is  the  judg- 
ment of  earth  !  How  generally,  by  man,  is  simple 
religious  faith  in  the  word  and  powder  of  a  Redeem- 
ing God  counted  as  weakness  and  folly ;  and  that 
man  considered  wise  who  professes  to  have  arisen 
superior  to  the  influence  of  its  fears,  untrammelled 
by  the  bondage  of  its  doctrines,  and  regardless  of 
the  peculiar  motiv^es  of  conduct  which  it  presents. 
There  is  a  fancied  independence  in  unbelief,  an 
imaginary  freedom  in  professed  scepticism,  which, 
though  it  really  casts  off  the  only  freedom  for  the 
soul,  and  brings  man  into  a  bondage  which  is  act- 
ual and  eternal,  still  deludes  and  ensnares  a  multi- 
tude of  the  unwary  and  self-willed.     There  are 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK.         347 

wise,  and  scribes,  and  disputers  of  this  world,  to 
whom  tlie  wisdom  of  God  appears  as  foolishness, 
and  who  imagine  themselves  elevated  above  the 
necessity  or  the  propriety  of  recourse  to  the  gra- 
cious provisions  of  a  Saviour's  Gospel.  Whether 
this  be  really  wisdom  in  man,  our  examination 
must  show.  That  it  is  not  wisdom  according  to 
the  standard  of  God,  is  manifest"  and  undeniable. 

True  wisdom  our  Lord  illustrates  in  the  text. 
The  passage  concludes  his  sermon  on  the  mount. 
In  that  discourse  he  lays  open  the  great  leading 
principles  of  the  Gospel,  and  carries  those  who 
adopt  and  those  who  reject  these  principles  of  con- 
duct, to  the  opposite  results  which  they  severally 
attain ;  and  having  exhibited  these  different  de- 
scriptions of  character,  and  these  contrasts  of  pri- 
vate experience  connected  with  them,  he  declares 
the  fact,  that  under  the  preaching  of  his  Gospel, 
true  wisdom  will  be  displayed  when  men  embrace 
and  love  it,  and  real  folly  exhibited  in  their  refusal 
and  rejection  of  it.  "  Therefore,"  he  says — that  is, 
not  only  because  of  the  truth  and  excellency  of 
these  principles  in  themselves,  but  also  because  of 
their  certain  final  result  and  the  consequences  of 
their  rejection,  "  then  will  I  profess  unto  them  I 
never  knew  you,  depart  from  me,  ye  that  work  in- 
iquity,"— "  Therefore,  whosoever  heareth  these 
sayings  of  mine,  and  doeth  them,  I  will  liken  him 
unto  a  wise  man,  which  built  his  house  upon  a  rock ; 
and  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and 
the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house,  and  it 
fell  not ;  for  it  was  founded  upon  a  rock." 

This  illustration  of  the  wisdom  of  universal  sub- 


348         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

jection  to  the  commands  of  Jesus  is,  like  all  the 
comparisons  of  our  Lord,  perfectly  familiar  and  in- 
telligible. None  could  hesitate  in  the  determina- 
tion which  were  the  wiser  of  two  men,  whom  he 
saw  engaged  in  building  for  themselves  a  habita- 
tion, when  the  one  dug  deep  for  his  foundation, 
and  erected  his  building  upon  the  solid  rock,  and 
the  other  went  by  the  seaside,  to  lay  his  timbers 
upon  the  sand,  exposed  to  the  power  of  every  rising 
storm  and  of  every  returning  tide.  Yet  thus  the 
Lord  illustrates  the  conduct  of  men  in  reference  to 
the  important  communications  which  he  has  made 
to  them  in  the  Gospel.  The  same  wisdom  which 
would  lead  a  man  to  make  his  earthly  dwelling  as 
secure  as  possible  from  harm,  will  lead  him  also  to 
secure  his  eternal  welfare,  in  a  thankful  conformity 
to  the  Saviour's  will ;  and  the  folly  which  would 
be  manifest  in  a  recklessness  of  the  lower  inter- 
est, is  far  more  seriously  exhibited,  in  indifference 
to  the  higher  concerns  of  the  soul,  which  a  neglect 
of  the  Gospel  displays.  No  farther  illustration 
could  render  this  figure  more  intelligible.  Let  it 
be  our  object  seriously  and  fairly  to  consider  it. 

Every  man  living  is  building  for  futurity.  To- 
morrow and  to-morrow,  in  a  long  succession  of 
coming  days,  occupy  his  attention  and  his  plans. 
But  beyond  the  plans  and  purposes  of  the  most, 
every  living  man  is  actually  building  for  eternity. 

"  Eternity,  that  awful  word, 
To  souls  unpardoned  and  abhorred." 

He  is  to  meet  the  results  of  his  labor  in  an  un- 
changing state.     He  is  to  receive  the  recompense 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK.         349 

of  his  reward,  in  the  judgment  of  an  unchanging 
God.  He  is  to  abide  by  the  full  consequences  of 
his  present  choice,  in  an  unchanging  life  or  death, 
as  flowing  from  that  judgment.  And  according  to 
his  building  now,  is  to  be  the  security  or  the  over- 
throw of  his  habitation  then.  An  acceptance  of 
the  redeeming  offers  of  the  Gospel,  a  submission 
to  its  authority,  an  embracing  of  its  hopes,  in  a  life 
of  simple  following  of  Christ,  is  one  system  of  build- 
ing for  man.  A  rejection  of  the  Gospel  from  its 
rightful  claims  upon  the  heart,  an  attempt  to  live 
and  act  independently  of  its  communications  and 
demands,  a  refusal  to  yield  to  the  supreme  author- 
ity and  will  of  the  Great  Redeemer  whom  it  re- 
veals— is  another  system  of  building  for  man.  The 
results  of  each,  eternity  will  display.  The  sim- 
ple question  we  now  consider,  is,  which  of  these 
schemes  of  human  conduct  and  character  is  build- 
ing upon  a  rock.  The  Saviour  solemnly  affirms, 
in  our  text,  the  man  who  builds  upon  the  rock  is 
the  one  who  hears  and  obeys  the  commands  of 
His  revelation,  and  the  principle  is  therefore  af- 
firmed, that  an  acceptance  and  obedience  of  the 
Gospel  is  the  mark  of  true  wisdom  on  the  part  of 
man.  The  converted,  believing,  religious  man  is 
the  only  wise  man. 

The  "  sayings"  of  the  Lord  Jesus  reveal  a  meth- 
od of  access  and  reconciliation  for  rebellious  man 
to  God,  in  the  obedience  and  death  of  a  Saviour 
who  hath  died  a  sacrifice  for  sin.  They  proclaim 
the  utterly  lost  state  of  man  without  this  provision. 
They  declare  that  there  is  no  other  way  of  life, 
than  that  which  he  has  opened ;  and  solemnly  an- 


350         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

nounce  that  the  everlasting  condition  of  man  will 
be  happy  or  miserable  according  to  his  acceptance 
or  rejection  of  this  divine  Redeemer.  They  may 
all  be  comprised  in  the  simple  testimony  intended 
to  convey  them,  "  Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any 
other;  for  there  is  no  other  name  under  heaven, 
given  among  men,  whereby  we  may  be  saved,  but 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ."  By  these  all-import- 
ant, all-absorbing  "sayings,"  the  professed  believer 
in  the  Gospel  declares  himself  governed.  From 
these  momentous  sayings  the  sincere  believer  de- 
rives the  practical  consequence,  that  for  him  every- 
thing is  here  involved  ;  it  is  his  grand  interest  and 
concern,  to  embrace  the  promises  which  are  here 
made,  to  yield  himself  completely  to  the  commands 
which  are  here  proclaimed,  to  follow  in  the  course 
which  is  here  laid  open,  that  he  may  attain  the 
eternal  life  which  is  here  proposed.  He  counts  all 
but  loss  for  Christ,  and  renders  himself  up  gladly, 
as  a  living  sacrifice  to  Christ,  to  be  His  servant  and 
friend,  and  property  forever.  The  Saviour  declares 
he  builds  his  house  upon  a  rock,  a  house  that  shall 
never  be  overthrown.  He  has  chosen  the  good 
part  which  shall  never  be .  taken  away  from  him  : 
he  is  the  wise  man.  The  wisdom  which  he  dis- 
plays we  will  consider. 

I.  First,  let  us  assume  the  point,  that  these  "  say- 
ings" of  the  Lord  Jesus  are  infallibly  true  ;  that  God 
has  really  thus  spoken  unto  man  in  the  person  of  His 
Son,  who  is  the  true  God  and  eternal  life.  It  will 
not  be  my  duty,  nor  a  part  of  my  argument,  in  such 
an  assumption  of  the  fact,  to  prove  this  point.  No ! 
in  such  a  view,  we  lay  our  hands  upon  the  Bible 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK.         351 

now,  as  an  infallible  communication  from  God, 
connected  with  which  there  is  no  shadow  of  doubt. 
It  was  given  by  His  inspiration.  It  is  a  complete 
revelation  of  His  mind  and  will.  It  utters,  upon 
all  the  subjects  of  which  it  speaks,  permanent,  in- 
telligible, and  eternal  truth.  Surely  upon  such  a 
supposition  as  this  there  will  be  no  hesitation  in 
pronouncing  upon  the  wisdom  of  man  in  connex- 
ion with  it.  The  sincere  Christian,  in  the  unhes- 
itating belief  of  this  supreme  authority  and  truth 
of  the  word  of  God,  thankfully  embraces  the  invi- 
tations which  it  presents,  accepts  the  glorious  Sa- 
viour whom  it  offers,  casts  himself  with  all  his 
hopes  for  eternity  upon  His  perfect  sufficiency  to 
save,  looks  for  the  promised  help  of  His  Spirit,  and 
strives  to  live  in  conformity  to  His  commands.  He 
passes  his  life  under  a  consciousness  of  the  inspec- 
tion of  his  Judge.  He  remembers  the  solemn  ac- 
count he  must  render  for  every  act  to  Him.  He 
lives  in  the  world  as  one  bought  with  a  price,  the 
property  of  God.  He  lives  for  a  glorious  eternity 
to  come.  He  desires  to  glorify  God  in  his  body 
and  his  spirit,  which  are  His.  He  feels  his  danger, 
from  the  weakness  of  his  own  nature,  the  corrup- 
tion of  his  own  heart,  and  the  encompassing  tempt- 
ations of  sin,  and  he  walks  through  life  with  solici- 
tude and  caution.  But  if  the  Bible  be  true,  he  is 
secure  forever.  He  has  sought  for  pardoning  mercy 
and  eternal  redemption  through  the  cleansing  blood 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,  in  the  way  which  this  heavenly 
guide  proposes.  He  has  trusted  himself  to  that 
perfect  obedience  of  the  righteous  One,  for  the 
many  sinners,  which  this  revelation  from  God  pro- 


352         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

claims.  He  rests  upon  the  guiding  power  of  a 
covenanted  Spirit,  to  enable  him  to  do  the  will  of 
God,  and  to  form  him  after  the  image  of  Christ. 
He  is  sure,  therefore,  to  be  made  victorious  and 
happy.  Undoubtedly,  if  the  sayings  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  are  infallibly  true,  he,  and  he  only,  is  the 
man  who  is  building  upon  the  rock. 

But  then,  wdiat  shall  we  say  of  the  man  who  is 
convinced  of  the  undoubted  certainty  of  the  reve- 
lations of  the  Bible,  and  yet  lives  and  acts  as  if 
they  were  a  known  and  undoubted  falsehood  ? 
who  acknowledges  a  final  punishment  for  sin,  in 
the  hands  of  a  resistless  God,  whose  solemn  threat- 
enings  hang  unceasingly  over  his  head,  and  yet 
pursues  the  broad  and  beaten  path  of  voluntary 
sin,  scorns  the  justice  of  heaven,  and  defies  the 
utmost  vengeance  of  the  Almighty  ?  who  acknowl- 
edges tiiat  there  is  salvation  only  in  the  name  of 
Christ,  and  in  His  power  to  save,  and  yet  treads 
His  blood  beneath  his  feet,  lives  contentedly  an 
alien  from  His  favor,  and  is  unconcerned  whether 
His  blessing  or  His  curse  shall  rest  upon  him  for 
eternity  ?  who  sees  that  the  pit  of  destruction  is 
bottomless  and  open,  that  the  smoke  of  its  torment 
ascends  forever  and  ever,  that  all  hope  of  return 
from  it  is  desperate  and  impossible,  and  yet,  while 
eternal  ruin  stares  him  in  the  face,  and  the  sword 
of  vengeance  points  directly  at  his  heart,  and  he  is 
upon  the  brink  of  everlasting  woe,  presses  on  to 
the  soul-destroying  embraces  of  sin,  as  the  ox  to 
the  slaughter,  or  the  bird  to  the  snare  of  the  fowler? 
What  shall  we  say  of  such  a  man,  who  acknowl- 
edges that  the  damnation  of  the  unconverted  and 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK.        353 

unbelieving  is  sure  and  just,  and  yet  refuses  to 
yield  his  heart  to  any  entreaties  to  him  to  escape — 
but  that  sin  infatuates  before  it  destroys,  and  rea- 
son is  dethroned  while  iniquity  triumphs  ?  Let  the 
bold  and  careless  rejecter  of  Gospel  grace,  the  un- 
converted and  worldly  hearer  of  the  truth,  in  this 
assembly,  arrest  his  confidence  ;  let  him  stop  for 
awhile  in  his  purpose  of  self-destruction,  and  con- 
sider the  simple  question :  "  Do  you  believe  it 
really  true  that  God  hath  offered  eternal  life  in  His 
Son  Jesus  Christ,  and  that  His  w  rath  abideth  upon 
those  who  reject  Him  ?"  If  you  honestly  believe 
this,  upon  what  possible  ground  can  you  feel  se- 
cure with  a  heart  still  unchanged,  and  a  soul  still 
unreconciled  to  God  ?  Do  you  imagine  that  in 
your  single  case,  a  pursuit  of  the  means  of  eternal 
death  will  not  bring  you  to  that  fatal  end  1  Do 
you  think  that  you  can  grapple  with  the  vengeance 
of  Jehovah  ?  that  you  can  endure  the  everlasting 
burnings  that  you  can  arm  yourself  against  the 
worm  that  never  dies  ?  Do  you  believe  that,  though 
there  is  an  eternal  hell  for  rebels  against  God,  yet 
you  can  be  a  rebel,  and  escape  or  brave  the  fearful 
doom  1  No !  surely  !  Deceived  as  you  may  be, 
and  as  you  certainly  are,  this  cannot  be  your  fool- 
ish confidence.  I  can  conceive  but  of /ti'o  grounds 
upon  which  a  man  who  professes  to  believe  the 
Bible  to  be  true,  can  feel  himself  secure  in  a  course 
of  unrepented  sin. 

You  may  flatter  yourself  that,  though  the  "  say- 
ings" of  the  Lord  Jesus  are  infallibly  true,  yet  God 
is  of  boundless  mercy,  and  will  not  execute  His 
awful  threatenings.      You  may  imagine  that  His 


354         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

solemn  denunciations  of  punishment  to  the  ungodly 
were  designed  rather  as  serious  motives  of  conduct, 
excitements  to  human  duty,  than  to  be  actually 
executed  upon  man.  For  this  the  Scripture  gives 
you  no  authority,  and  the  mere  possibility,  which 
your  desires,  not  your  judgments,  suggest,  is  a  thread 
far  too  slender,  too  manifestly  insecure,  to  be  en- 
trusted with  the  interests  of  your  immortal  soul. 
Divine  mercy  is  indeed  surpassing  all  human  pow- 
er to  recount.  It  is  the  exhaustless  fountain  of  all 
the  hope  and  comfort  of  man.  But  it  has  its  ap- 
pointed time  and  place  for  exercise,  and  when 
your  present  life  is  closed,  in  which  wonderful 
mercy  has  been  displayed  to  your  guilty  soul,  all 
opportunity  for  its  exercise  has  passed  away ;  then 
comes  the  dispensation  of  simple,  unbending  jus- 
tice, and  to  hope  for  the  indulgencesof  mercy  then, 
is  to  ask  for  seed-time  in  the  day  of  harvest.  In 
the  inviolable  order  of  God's  appointment,  there  is 
a  time  to  pardon  and  a  time  to  punish,  and  the  one 
will  never  be  allowed  to  take  the  place  of  the  other. 
When  once  the  corn  has  fallen  before  the  sickle,  it 
gains  no  farther  reviving  from  the  sunshine.  This 
confidence  in  the  future  interposition  of  mercy  to 
remove  the  final  effects  of  necessary  justice,  is  an 
overturning  of  the  whole  fidelity  of  the  word  of 
God.  Who  can  trust  a  single  declaration  which 
He  makes,  if  there  be  still  a  secret  reservation,  an 
unrevealed  purpose  of  indulgence,  by  which  His 
open  assertions  are  to  be  finally  set  aside  ?  We 
were  as  w^ell  without  a  revelation  from  God,  as 
with  one  that  is  thus  unintelligible,  unsafe,  and 
useless.     No !  "  God  hath  spoken,  and  shall  it  not 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK.         355 

come  to  pass  ?  He  hath  said,  and  shall  He  not  do 
it  ?  God  is  not  a  man  that  He  should  lie,  nor  the 
son  of  man,  that  He  should  repent." 

But  it  may  be  that  your  conscience  is  too  faith- 
ful and  apprehensive,  while  you  thus  reject  all  the 
offers  and  authority  of  the  sayings  of  the  Lord  Je- 
sus, still  professing  to  believe  them  infallibly  true, 
to  permit  you  to  rest  upon  this  unauthorized  foun- 
dation. You  may  attempt,  then,  to  escape  with 
the  promise  and  hope  of  a  future  conversion.  In 
this  hope  you  are  as  irrational  and  deluded  as  in 
the  other.  I  do  not  deny  that  God  may  bring  you 
back  from  your  folly  in  a  future  day,  and  by  some 
future  instrument.  But  how  can  you  promise  your- 
self the  repeated  offer  of  this  rejected  gift,  the 
time  in  which  it  may  be  received,  the  means  by 
which  it  may  be  obtained  ?  Your  flickering,  wast- 
ed life,  is  in  the  hands  of  an  offended  God,  of 
whose  mercies  it  is  that  you  are  not  now  consumed. 
You  cannot  secure  to  yourself  the  reversion  of  an 
hour.  How  many  around  you  have  fallen  into  the 
darkness  of  death,  with  all  the  guilt  of  a  life  impen- 
itent, and  of  the  promises  of  repentance  unfulfilled  ! 
and  what  was  all  their  hope,  when  God  hath  taken 
away  their  souls  ?  O  how  vain  are  expectations 
and  plans  like  these  !  The  times  and  seasons  the 
Father  keeps  in  His  own  power.  Sinner  !  the  de- 
cree may  have  already  passed  concerning  you,  and 
your  hour  of  probation  be  to-night  completed,  and 
long  before  your  own  appointed  time  of  conversion 
comes,  you  may  be  cut  down,  as  a  guilty  rebel, 
ripe  for  everlasting  ruin.  God  will  not  always 
strive  with  you,  nor  suffer  himself  to  be  mocked 


356         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

by  you;  He  will  arise  and  depart,  and  will  swear 
in  His  wrath  that  you  shall  not  enter  into  His  rest. 
These  infallible  sayings  of  Jesus  give  no  encour- 
agement whatever  to  the  guilty  man  who  is  looking 
for  a  future  convenient  season  for  a  penitent,  obe- 
dient return  to  God.  Their  great  principle  for  hu- 
man conduct  in  this  respect  is,  "  To-day  if  ye  will 
hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts  :"  "  Now  is 
the  accepted  time,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation." 

Upon  the  supposition  that  the  revelations  of  the 
Gospel  are  undoubtedly  true,  the  man  who  rejects 
them  from  his  heart,  and  continues  in  his  rebellious 
disregard  of  their  demands,  can  have  no  rational 
hope,  either  in  the  future  mercy  of  God,  or  in  his 
own  plan  of  a  future  conversion.  And  while  he 
encourages  himself  in  such  a  hope,  he  is  manifestly 
building  upon  the  sand.  He  is  preparing  himself 
for  everlasting  destruction  from  the  presence  of 
God,  and  from  the  glory  of  His  power.  But  if  God 
be  true,  and  the  word  of  Christ  be  truth — if  these 
things  are  indeed  so,  as  He  hath  said — surely  he  is 
a  wise  man,  and  building  upon  a  rock,  who  cheer- 
fully accepts  the  promises  and  grace  which  the 
Gospel  offers  ;  who  heareth  and  doeth  with  a  glad 
heart,  sayings  which  he  believes  to  be  infallibly 
certain  and  true  ;  and  who  makes  it  his  great  en- 
deavour to  adorn  the  doctrine,  and  to  honour  the 
name  of  God  his  Saviour  in  a  life  of  affectionate,  ho- 
ly conformity  to  His  will.  All  that  the  Bible  prom- 
ises he  secures,  all  that  God  can  give,  is  his  forever. 
His  hope  shall  never  make  him  ashamed.  In  this 
world  he  is  guided  by  unerring  wisdom,  sup- 
ported by  unfailing  mercy,  and  protected  by  im- 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK.         357 

movable  truth.  The  rains  may  descend  from 
above  in  heavy  afflictions  and  sorrow  from  the  hand 
of  God.  The  winds  may  blow  from  the  earth,  in 
the  unceasing  derision  and  infidelity  of  men.  The 
floods  may  swell  and  gather  around  him  in  accu- 
mulated temptation  and  hostility  from  the  ungodly. 
But  he  stands  unmoved,  his  house  is  founded  upon 
a  rock. 

Beset  with  threatening  dangers  round, 

Unmoved  shall  he  maintain  his  ground  ; 

On  safety's  rock  he  sits  and  sees  / 

The  shipwreck  of  his  enemies. 

The  imagination  of  man  can  suggest  nothing  really 
desirable,  which  the  word  of  God,  who  cannot  lie, 
has  not  promised  to  him.  It  is  beyond  the  power 
of  his  mind  to  comprehend  the  joys  which  actually 
await  him,  and  which  are  all  his  own.  And  if  all 
the  precious  sayings  of  the  Lord  Jesus  be  infallibly 
true,  if  they  come  with  the  authority  of  the  mighty 
God,  competent  to  fulfill  them  for  fallen  man,  the 
real  believer  in  these  sayings  can  have  no  wish  un- 
gratified,  no  hope  unfulfilled.  In  life,  in  death, 
for  eternity,  he  is  perfectly  secure  and  completely 
happy.  He  has  sacrificed  nothing  to  his  faith,  but 
that  which  was  really  his  dishonour,  and  a  source 
of  trouble.  He  has  lost  nothing  by  his  faith,  that 
is  important  to  his  real  interest.  He  has  gained 
everything  which  can  be  conceived  as  valuable, 
and  has  filled  his  coming  existence  with  unspeak- 
able and  never-ending  joy.  His  is  free  forgive- 
ness ;  his  is  perfect  acceptance  with  God ;  his  is 
peaceful  communion  and  partnership  with  Christ; 


358         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

his  is  a  hope  of  glory  which  fadeth  not  away ;  his 
is  the  assurance  of  a  rest  with  God ;  his,  the  crown 
of  life,  which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge  shall 
give  ;  his,  a  peaceful  departure  from  the  earth ; 
his,  a  confiding  appearance  at  the  judgment-seat ; 
his,  a  kingdom  which  cannot  be  removed.  Happy 
is  he,  however  tried ;  well  shall  it  be  with  him, 
however  persecuted  and  opposed.  God,  a  redeem- 
ing, saving  God,  is  his  friend,  and  no  one  is  able  to 
pluck  him  from  His  mighty  and  faithful  hands. 

The  hour  is  near  when  you  will  all  desire  his 
condition.  You  may  now  count  his  choice  to  be 
foolishness ;  you  may  choose  to  sneer  at  his  want 
of  sincerity ;  you  may  look  forward  to  his  end,  as 
dishonour  and  disappointment.  But  the  hour  is 
before  you,  when  this  whole  judgment  shall  be  re- 
versed ;  when  the  saints,  in  their  turn,  shall  judge 
the  earth  ;  and  when,  rejecting  the  infallible  hope 
which  has  comforted,  supported,  and  rewarded 
them,  you  will  find  yourselves  still  unconverted 
and  unpardoned,  struggling  with  storms  and  winds, 
against  which  the  pride  of  your  heart  will  offer  you 
no  protection,  and  bearing  forever  that  intolerable 
load  of  sorrow  and  condemnation  which  you  have 
laid  up  for  yourselves.  May  I  beg  you,  in  the 
name  of  this  true  but  rejected  Saviour,  to  consider 
this  matter  1  "  Whoso  is  wise,  will  understand 
these  things,  and  to  them  shall  be  showed  the  lov- 
ing-kindness of  the  Lord." 


XXV. 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK, 


St.  Matthew,  vii.,  24,  25. —  Therefore  whosoever  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine 
and  doeth  them,  I  will  liken  him,  unto  a  wise  man,  which  built  his  house  upon 
a  rock ;  and  the  rain  descended,  and  thejloods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and 
beat  upon  that  house,  and  it  fell  not,  for  it  was  founded  upon  a  rock. 

With  what  perfect  confidence  in  the  truth  and 
certainty  of  His  own  revelations  the  Saviour  speaks! 
There  is  no  hesitation  or  doubt  in  His  publication 
of  His  own  sayings.  They  are  truth,  they  are  life, 
they  are  salvation  for  man.  The  man  who  is  gov- 
erned by  them  is  a  wise  man,  and  has  built  his 
house  upon  a  rock.  The  man  who  refuses  to  adopt 
them  is  a  foolish  man,  who  has  built  his  house  upon 
the  sand.  Upon  the  supposition  that  these  sayings 
are  certainly  and  undeniably  true,  there  can  be  no 
question  in  this  conclusion.  He  only  is  wise,  or 
can  be  secure,  who  has  accepted  them  as  the  prin- 
ciple of  a  new  and  spiritual  life,  and  has  founded 
upon  them  his  hopes  of  future  blessedness  and 
glory,  whose  heart  is  governed  by  their  commands, 
and  whose  desires  are  regulated  by  their  promises. 


360         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

But  we  will  consider  this  standard  of  wisdom 
upon  the  supposition  that  these  sayings  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  are  not  completely  established  in  the  view 
of  man,  as  an  undoubted  and  infallible  communi- 
cation from  God.  It  is  only  in  a  high  degree  proh- 
ahle  that  this  is  the  fact.  What,  then,  is  the  course 
of  wisdom  for  man  ? 

This  probability,  of  which  I  now  speak,  does  not 
affect  the  actual  truth  or  falsehood  of  these  pro- 
fessed revelations  from  God,  in  themselves  consid- 
ered. These  sayings  of  Jesus  must  be  absolutely 
either  true  or  false ;  there  is  no  middle  ground 
between  these  two  points.  It  affects  merely  the 
aspect  under  which  they  are  presented  to  the  mind 
of  man.  That  is  considered  by  us  as  probable,  as 
likely  to  be  true,  which  has  more  and  better  ar- 
guments in  its  favour  than  can  be  urged  against  it. 
Few  will  deny  that  the  sayings  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
stand  at  least  upon  this  ground.  If  any  man  be 
disposed  to  deny  it,  I  shall  be  ready  to  meet  him 
upon  the  only  remaining  ground,  that  there  is  cer- 
tainly no  truth  in  them.  But  for  the  present  we 
assume  the  ground  that  their  truth  is  extremely 
probable. 

The  actual  testimonies,  of  prophecies  fulfilled, 
and  miracles  performed,  in  favour  of  the  revelations 
of  the  Gospel,  the  internal  evidence  of  their  own 
character  and  operations,  the  extent  of  influence 
which  they  have  attained  upon  the  earth,  unaided 
by  the  means  which  uniformly  govern  among  men, 
the  power  which  they  daily  exercise  over  the 
hearts  of  those  who  believe,  the  perseverance  with 
which  they  are  maintained  and  defended  by  them 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK.        361 

under  all  the  changes  of  life,  the  fact  that  no  ex- 
ertions of  men  have  been  sufficient  to  overthrow 
them,  while  other  systems  of  acknowledged  human 
invention  have  crumbled  into  dust — afford  ample 
ground  of  probability  at  the  least,  for  the  truth  of 
the  claims  which  they  make,  and  render  it  un- 
doubtedly sure  that  they  are  more  likely  to  be 
true  than  they  are  to  be  false. 

Now  it  is  not  necessary  to  demonstrate  the  rev- 
elations of  the  Gospel  to  be  indubitably  true,  to 
make  it  wise  in  man  to  receive  and  adopt  them. 
It  is  enough  to  render  unbelief,  or  a  practical  re- 
jection of  the  Gospel,  utterly  inexcusable,  if  the 
statements  which  this  Gospel  makes,  carry  with 
them  a  greater  degree  of  probability  than  can  pos- 
sibly be  urged  against  them.  The  habitual  judg- 
ment of  man  gives  its  assent  to  this  position,  in  all 
the  business  and  conduct  of  human  life.  The 
universal  concurrence  of  opinion  and  determination 
among  men  proclaims,  that  no  man  is  wise,  or  can 
be  secure,  who  refuses  to  act  upon  this  principle, 
or  to  govern  his  habits  and  expectations  by  it. 

In  the  aifairs  of  this  present  life,  no  man  requires 
an  unerring  assurance  of  the  good  which  he  designs 
to  gain,  or  of  the  evil  which  he  desires  to  avoid, 
from  arguments  demonstrably  certain,  before  he 
enters  upon  the  course  to  which,  in  either  case, 
his  interest  leads.  A  persuasion  of  the  probable 
results  of  his  efforts  is  authority  and  motive  suf- 
ficient to  call  forth  all  his  exertions,  and  to  bend 
his  whole  energies  to  the  work  he  has  proposed. 
What  merchant  defers  his  traffic  with  a  foreign 
country,  until  he  has  opportunity  to  be  convinced, 


362         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

by  his  own  actual  examination,  that  there  is  such 
a  land,  and  that  it  furnishes  the  goods  he  wants. 
He  hazards  the  whole  amount  of  his  property  and 
expectations,  upon  the  report  which  he  has  re- 
ceived from  others;  that  is,  upon  a  probability 
against  which  there  is  no  just  exception.  And  he 
is  acknowledged  to  be  wise  in  such  a  course.  The 
man  who  has  probable  reason  for  believing  that  he 
shall  meet  with  suffering  and  loss,  either  in  a  jour- 
ney which  he  has  undertaken,  or  in  a  business 
upon  which  he  has  entered,  feels  himself  to  have 
sufficient  reason  to  change  his  course  and  plans, 
though  he  is  certain  to  sustain  some  inconvenience 
in  such  a  change.  There  can  be  no  certainty  in 
the  prospect  of  human  temporal  concerns  yet  fu- 
ture, and  men  consequently  govern  themselves  al- 
together by  probable  grounds  of  expectation,  and 
they  are  wise,  and  they  are  generally  secure,  in 
such  a  course.  But  if  this  be  wisdom  in  temporal 
concerns,  surely,  when  the  interest  involved  in  our 
decision  is  an  eternal  interest,  and  the  consequences 
of  that  decision  are  everlasting  and  unchangeable, 
a  far  lower  degree  of  probability  should  awaken 
our  anxiety  and  engage  our  caution  against  the 
loss  of  which  we  are  warned,  than  might  be  al- 
lowed to  disturb  us  in  any  mere  temporal  concern. 
When  the  loss  would  be  merely  temporary,  and 
may  be  repaired  if  it  should  occur,  or,  if  it  w  ere  not 
repaired,  would  not  affect  our  highest  interests, 
then  a  small  amount  of  probability  need  not  awa- 
ken an  intense  anxiety  to  prevent  its  occurrence. 
But  when  every  loss  is  a  remediless  one,  when 
every  interest  involved  affects  our  eternal  welfare. 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCKL         363 

when  tliere  are  no  means  of  reparation  or  recovery 
should  the  loss  occur,  when  the  alternatives  are  an 
everlasting  heaven  and  an  eternal  hell,  when  the 
Saviour  who  is  offered  is  the  only  possible  Saviour, 
and  the  life  which  he  presents  the  only  possible 
hope  of  life  for  man,  when  everything  dear  to  the 
soul  for  time  and  for  eternity  is  involved — then  he 
only  is  a  wise  man  who  is  cautious  at  the  least 
probable  ground  for  fear,  and  solicitous  to  prevent 
the  least  possibility  of  disaster. 

Again,  the  reason  and  judgment  of  man  lead 
him  cheerfully  to  endure  a  small  evil  or  inconve- 
nience in  his  present  affairs,  if  there  be  a  probabil- 
ity that  the  refusal  to  do  this  will  lead  to  the  en- 
durance of  a  much  greater  evil,  to  which  no  remedy 
can  be  applied.  Let  it  be  supposed  that  the  future 
salvation  which  the  Gospel  offers  is  only  probably 
true,  and  that  in  the  adoption  of  it  as  his  hope  and 
object,  man  must  endure  a  positive  present  evil,  in 
abridging  his  indulgences  and  appetites,  and  cut- 
ting off  his  opportunities  for  emolument  and  gain. 
But  where  the  choice  is  thus  between  the  probabil- 
ity of  an  eternal  state  of  misery  and  sorrow,  an  un- 
changing condition  of  fearful  despair,  and  the  suf- 
fering of  a  present,  partial  inconvenience,  can  a 
man  be  wise,  or  pretend  to  build  his  house  upon  a 
rock,  who  hesitates  in  the  course  he  should  pursue  ? 
Will  he  reject  this  probability  of  a  tremendous, 
incalculable  result,  for  the  trifling  self-denial  which 
is  involved  with  it  ?  Does  he  cheerfully  submit  to 
a  painful  surgical  operation,  which  inflicts  extreme 
actual  distress,  upon  the  probable  expectation  of 
prolonging  for  a  little  while  his  earthly  being; 


364         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

and  is  he  wise  in  refusing,  if  it  be  manifestly  ne- 
cessary in  his  spiritual  interests,  to  part  with  a  right 
hand  or  a  right  eye,  in  securing,  upon  the  same 
ground  of  hope,  an  imperishable  existence  here- 
after ? 

Let  us  for  a  moment  consider  the  two  sides  of 
this  probability,  to  which  I  now  direct  your  notice. 

"  It  is  possible,^'  the  unbelieving  heart  suggests — 
"  it  is  possible  there  may  be  no  such  thing  as  a  fu- 
ture state,  either  of  happiness  or  misery,  or  at  least 
in  any  connexion  with  a  regard  or  disregard  for 
the  professed  revelations  of  the  Gospel :  it  is  pos- 
sible that  the  book  which  claims  to  be  the  written 
revelation  of  the  will  of  an  unseen  God,  may  be 
wholly  an  imposture  and  a  falsehood,  that  no  such 
Redeemer  as  it  presents  has  ever  been  commis- 
sioned for  man,  that  man  has  no  real  need  of  any 
such  interposition  in  his  behalf"  Suppose  even 
this,  and  what  evil  does  /^e  sustain,  who  has  honest- 
ly acted  upon  the  opposite  belief,  and  taken  up  his 
cross,  and  denied  himself,  and  followed  Jesus 
Christ  ?  What  sacrifice  has  he  been  required  and 
compelled  to  make,  but  of  the  unbridled  indulgence 
of  mere  earthly  and  sensual  desires,  the  amount 
of  which  evil  we  shall  have  occasion  hereafter  to 
consider.  But'then,  if  this  be  possible,  on  the  oth- 
er side  it  is  quite  probable  that  there  will  be  just 
such  a  state  of  future  recompense  as  the  scriptures 
proclaim,  just  such  a  result  of  human  rebellion,  just 
such  a  condemnation  for  those  who  obey  not  the 
Gospel  of  God ;  and  then  what  is  the  loss  of  the 
unbeliever  ?  How  inconceivably  miserable  becomes 
his  condition !      For  him  there  is  no  retreat,  no 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK.         365 

mending  of  his  choice,  no  hope  of  restoration  for 
his  soul.  His  all  is  lost,  and  lost  beyond  recovery. 
Worlds  -svant  wealth  to  purchase  back  the  privi- 
leges which  he  has  vilely  cast  away.  Surely  the 
man  who  encounters  a  hazard  like  this,  upon  a 
mere  barren  possibility  of  the  falsehood  of  his  fears, 
cannot  call  himself  wise. 

The  merchant  with  his  richly-laden  vessel  is 
overtaken  by  a  fearful  tempest.  The  angry  billows 
dash  around  him,  and  threaten  the  entire  loss  of 
his  ship.  He  may  save  her,  perhaps,  and  the  lives 
of  all  on  board,  by  throwing  into  the  ocean  his  val- 
uable goods,  but  apparently  in  no  other  way.  It 
is  possible  the  wind  may  lull,  the  storm  may  cease, 
and  he  and  his  goods  may  be  both  preserved  :  but 
the  probability  is  wholly  against  him.  Would  he 
be  w  ise  to  choose  this  meagre  chance,  and  face  the 
hazard,  with  danger  so  manifest  and  real  ?  "  Skin 
for  skin,  all  that  a  man  hath  w^ill  he  give  for  his 
life."  None  could  pity  him,  but  for  his  insane  infat- 
uation, should  he  cling  to  his  possessions,  and  per- 
ish in  a  crisis  like  this.  You  awake  at  midnight 
in  your  bed.  The  suffocating  smoke  fills  your  cham- 
ber, and  convinces  you  that  the  gathering  element 
of  destruction  must  be  somewhere  near.  Your 
children  are  scattered  around  your  habitation  in 
the  tranquillity  of  slumber.  Your  whole  property 
is  treasured  in  your  house.  Would  you  quiet  your 
justly-awakened  apprehensions  of  the  probability 
of  danger  w  ith  the  mere  possibility  that  the  fire 
might  be  in  some  neighboring  house,  or  if  in  yours, 
yet  it  might  expire  of  itself,  or  some  other  one 
might  arise  to  extinguish  it,  and  compose  yourself 


366         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

to  sleep  again,  to  wait  until  the  flames  actually- 
seized  your  bed,  and  enveloped  you  with  inextri- 
cable death  ?  It  would  be  a  madman's  course. 
No  parent's  heart  could  be  still  beneath  the  bur- 
den of  this  probability  ;  no  rational  man  could  thus 
trifle  with  his  property  and  life.  Yet  these  cases 
fairly  illustrate  the  point  to  which  they  are  brought. 
Just  the  fatal  course  which  they  exhibit  as  one 
branch  of  the  alternative  involved  in  them,  is  the 
course  which  is  actually  pursued  by  every  man 
who  rejects  the  invitations  and  despises  the  com- 
mands of  the  Gospel.  In  every  doubtful  case, 
surely  enlightened  reason  will  determine  for  the 
safer  side.  And,  beyond  all  question,  will  this  de- 
termination be  made,  if  the  case  be  not  only  doubt- 
ful, but  involving  the  venture  of  an  imperishable 
soul,  an  eternity  of  peace.  Even  though  a  man's 
condition  should  be  actually  safe,  yet  a  probable 
apprehension  that  it  is  not  safe,  is  enough  to  make 
a  wise  and  cautious  judgment  thoroughly  examine 
it.  Let  the  question  of  probability  which  we  now 
consider,  be  settled  on  the  side  adverse  to  Chris- 
tian truth  ; — let  the  unbeliever  demonstrate  that 
there  is  no  God  that  judgeth  in  the  earth,  no  im- 
mortality for  man,  no  abode  of  sorrow  for  the  des- 
piser  of  his  word  ; — let  him  prove  Jesus  to  be  an 
impostor,  and  His  revelations  of  truth  a  fable  with- 
out foundation — and  he  may  certainly  pursue  his 
path  of  contempt  for  God  and  devotion  to  his  own 
heart's  lusts,  with  more  reason,  if  he  find  pleasure 
in  it.  But  until  this  be  done,  mere  denial  and  re- 
jection of  the  truth  cannot  be  received  for  argu- 
ment ;  and  it  remains  still,  on  the  one  side,  a  case 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK.         367 

of  accumulated  probability,  and  on  the  other  a  case 
exceedingly  doubtful. 

In  considering  this  supposition,  that  the  sayings 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  are  probably  true,  let  it  never 
be  forgotten  that  the  whole  choice  for  man,  on  this 
momentous  subject,  is  between  an  acceptance  of 
the  Saviour's  Gospel,  and  entire  atheism.  If  this 
divine  revelation  cannot  bring  adequate  evidence 
that  it  comes  from  God,  if  this  produce  not  author- 
ity sufficient  to  control  the  will  and  heart  of  man, 
it  will  not  be  pretended  that  any  other  system  has 
that  which  is  wanting  here.  No  mere  negative 
position  can  be  maintained  upon  this  subject,  until 
you  have  reached  the  most  extreme  one.  You 
cannot  stand  upon  a  simple  denial  of  the  Gospel 
for  want  of  evidence.  You  are  driven  back,  by  the 
force  of  your  own  principles,  through  every  pro- 
fessed religious  truth,  until  you  deny  the  very  ex- 
istence of  a  creating  and  controlling  God,  and  end 
in  the  cheerless  and  unfathomable  abyss  of  univer- 
sal scepticism.  To  this  fearful,  hideous  issue  is 
every  man  necessarily  driven,  who  rejects  from  its 
rightful  control  over  his  heart,  the  record  which 
God  hath  given  concerning  His  Son.  By  this  issue 
must  every  unconverted  man  maintain  himself,  who 
would  not  be  condemned  out  of  his  own  mouth, 
in  the  practical  rejection  of  principles  of  truth 
whose  real  authority  he  is  compelled  to  acknowl- 
edge. At  this  issue  the  question  is  to  be  settled, 
which  is  the  more  probable,  that  there  is  no  God, 
and  no  eternity  for  man,  and  no  spiritual  existence 
in  man,  or  that  all  grace  and  truth  has  been  re- 
vealed to  man,  as  laid  up  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ? 


363         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

Let  it  be  remembered  further,  in  settling  this 
question,  that  unbelieving  man  must  sustain  him- 
self in  rejecting  the  Gospel  from  his  heart,  by  an 
equal  amount  of  evidence  opposing  it.  Infidelity 
must  exhibit  apostle  for  apostle,  and  martyr  for  mar- 
tyr, and  witness  for  witness.  It  must  show  the 
same  amount  of  benefit  to  have  been  produced  for 
man  by  its  instrumentality,  and  the  same  power  to 
have  been  exercised  by  it  over  the  welfare  of  men. 
The  enemies  of  the  precious  Gospel  of  Christ  must 
stand  confronted  with  its  friends,  and  speak  for 
themselves.  Whose  life  have  they  made  more 
happy  ?  Whom  have  they  consoled  in  sorrow  ? 
Whom  have  they  cheered  in  adversity  ?  Whom 
have  they  enlivened  and  blessed  in  death  ?  What 
have  they  offered,  what  can  they  offer,  for  the  soul 
in  eternity  ?  I  do  not  here  speak  of  the  actually 
cheerless  and  miserable  character,  and  the  yet 
more  degraded  and  ruinous  effects  of  worldly  in- 
fidelity and  contempt  of  God,  as  the  world  has 
seen  them.  I  simply  ask  that  the  scheme  which 
you  are  to  adopt,  as  a  system  of  professed  religion, 
shall  come  upon  grounds  of  benefit  and  authority 
w  hich  may  compare  with  the  Gospel,  that  you  may 
justify  yourselves  in  some  degree,  for  the  rejection 
of  this  for  the  sake  of  that.  And  until  all,  and  more 
than  I  have  specified,  shall  be  done  by  some  antag- 
onist system,  no  comparison  of  probabilities  can  be 
made,  and  it  remains  probable,  extremely  probable, 
that  the  revelations  which  God  professes  to  have 
made,  dreadful  as  they  are,  are  really  revelations 
of  facts  from  God,  which  will  be  immutable  and 
eternal ;  and  he  only  can  be  wise,  or  a  secure  man, 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK.         369 

who  resolves  to  yield  his  heart  to  their  constraint, 
to  make  their  promises  the  great  object  of  his  life, 
and  to  be  found,  in  his  daily,  abiding  character  and 
course,  the  servant  and  follower  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

But  the  unconverted  man  does  not  act  as  if  this 
were  a  doubtful  matter.  If  it  were  established  be- 
yond dispute  that  there  is  no  God,  no  future  judg- 
ment, no  heaven  or  hell,  unconverted  men  could 
not  live  more  completely  devoted  to  themselves, 
and  without  God  in  the  world.  God  is  not  in  all 
their  thoughts.  How^  can  they  forget  Him  more 
entirely  ?  They  do  not  make  a  single  reference  to 
the  Gospel,  the  sayings  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  in  all 
the  conduct  of  their  lives.  How  can  they  treat 
them  with  more  contempt  and  unconcern  ?  Prayer- 
less,  scriptureless,  thoughtless  soul,  whither  fur- 
ther will  you  run  ?  Is  it  not  extremely  probable 
that  this  rejected  Gospel  comes  from  God  ?  that 
this  despised  Saviour  is  God  manifest  in  the  flesh, 
the  last  messenger  of  mercy  to  man  ?  that  the  state 
of  being  before  you  is  an  eternity,  to  be  settled 
wholly  by  His  word  and  the  operation  of  His  truth  ? 
Witli  this  probability,  where  else  is  there  a  rock 
upon  which  you  may  wisely  build  ?  What  other 
foundation  is  offered  for  human  hope  ?  In  your 
unconverted  state,  what  hope  can  you  possess  ? 
The  Gospel  gives  no  hope  to  the  unchanged,  un- 
pardoned soul.  If  it  be  not  received  into  your 
hearts  as  the  new-creating  spring  of  spiritual  life, 
as  a  treasure  valued  by  you  above  all  others,  it  is 
a  curse,  a  condemnation,  and  it  were  better  for  you 
had  it  never  been  heard.    To  believe  it  in  its  theory 


370         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

and  reject  it  in  its  practical,  controlling  principle, 
is  trifling  with  its  majestic  character,  and  despising 
its  supreme  authority.  To  those  who  by  its  ope- 
ration are  renewed  and  sanctified,  it  gives  the  ut- 
most assurance  of  eternal  peace,  as  the  glorious 
issue  of  present  trials  and  cares.  But  it  proclaims, 
more  fearfully  than  the  violated  law  had  proclaimed 
before,  tribulation  and  anguish  upon  every  soul  of 
man  that  persists  in  doing  evil,  indignation  and 
wrath  upon  all  those  who  reject  the  mercies  which 
it  freely  and  abundantly  proposes  and  provides. 
It  is  the  jealous  system  of  a  jealous  God.  It  will 
not  accept  the  homage  of  the  knee  and  the  tongue, 
when  these  are  separated  from  the  heart.  It  will 
not  receive  half  the  affections  of  man,  while  the 
residue  are  elsewhere  bestowed.  It  demands  the 
complete  subjection  of  your  whole  life  to  its  au- 
thority, and  your  whole  soul  to  its  power.  It  comes 
before  you  as  the  practical  standard  to  which  you 
are  to  become  conformed,  and  the  living,  vital 
principle  by  which  you  are  to  be  governed.  It 
claims  to  be  received  and  tried  as  such,  and  it 
is  only  in  this  actual  experience  that  its  character 
and  power  are  to  be  known.  Supposing  these  say- 
ings of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  be  probably  true,  all 
other  claims  are,  with  equal  probability,  false  ;  and 
while  no  other  system  offers  anything,  or  threatens 
anything,  this  divine  revelation  of  the  will  of  God, 
with  the  highest  probability  of  truth,  offering  life 
eternal  to  every  faithful  follower  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  threatening  everlasting  ruin  to  the  un- 
believing rejecter  of  its  mercies,  presents  to  every 
man  who  would  be  wise  for  himself,  the  only  pos- 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK.         371 

sible  position  of  probable  security.  He,  then,  who 
embraces  and  holds  fast  the  sayings  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  even  upon  this  supposition,  must  be  likened 
unto  a  wise  man,  who  builds  his  house  upon  a  rock : 
and  though  the  rains  descend  and  the  floods  come, 
and  the  winds  blow,  and  beat  upon  that  house,  it 
falls  not ;  for  it  is  founded  upon  a  rock. 

What,  then,  does  this  Gospel  offer,  and  what 
does  it  demand  ?  It  offers  to  every  consciously- 
guilty  man  a  divine  Redeemer,  and  life  and  every 
blessing  laid  up  in  Him.  It  presents  an  immediate, 
entire  forgiveness,  through  the  value  of  His  offer- 
ing of  Himself  in  death,  and  a  perfect  title  to  life 
everlasting,  in  His  voluntary  obedience  for  man. 
It  presents  the  enjoyment  of  every  mental  comfort 
for  man,  amidst  the  anxieties  and  cares  of  the  pres- 
ent life.  It  furnishes  a  precious  and  consoling 
hope  of  a  future  glory,  to  brighten  every  hour  of 
darkness,  to  uphold  in  every  sorrow,  and  to  carry 
sinking  man  in  triumph  through  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death.  All  this  it  offers  freely,  uncon- 
ditionally, immediately,  to  every  one  who  hungers 
and  thirsts  for  the  blessing,  and  is  willing  to  receive 
it.  It  holds  it  all  out  to  him  as  his  own  possession 
now,  at  once,  forever ;  and  it  promises  to  make 
him  secure  in  the  possession  of  it  all,  by  divine 
power,  for  eternity. 

It  demands  a  simple,  but  instant  acceptance  in 
the  heart  of  this  intelligence  and  offer,  as  a  person- 
al proposal  to  the  individual  concerned ;  an  instant 
choice  of  it,  in  opposition  to  every  other  claim,  as 
a  portion  for  the  soul ;  an  immediate  adoption  of 
the  cause  and  side  of  the  Saviour  whom  it  presents, 


372         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

in  the  division  which  His  service  makes  in  the 
world ;  a  cordial  and  determined  abiding  with 
Him,  in  a  partnership  of  interest,  endurance,  and 
hopes,  in  the  work  which  He  has  undertaken  in 
this  present  world.  It  demands  of  every  individ- 
ual in  this  assembly  an  affectionate  choice  of  the 
crucified  Christ  whom  it  proclaims,  as  his  ruler  and 
his  treasure,  making  him  willing  to  deem  every- 
thing else  of  no  value  in  comparison.  And  it  pro- 
poses thus  the  question :  Will  you  have  this  Saviour 
to  be  your  Saviour  ?  this  Lord  to  be  your  Lord  ? 
now,  in  an  instant  determination  of  your  own  choice 
and  will,  and  go  from  this  place,  having  made  a 
new  determination  for  the  whole  future  current  of 
your  life  ?  This  it  declares  the  only  course  of  wis- 
dom, the  only  possible  path  of  security  for  man. 


XXVI. 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK, 


St.  Matthew,  vii.,  24,  25. —  Therefore  wlwsoever  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine 
and  doeth  them,  I  will  liken  him  unto  a  wise  man,  which  built  his  house  upon 
a  rock ;  and  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and 
beat  upon  that  house,  and  it  fell  not,  for  it  was  founded  upon  a  rock. 

Upon  the  supposition  that  the  sayings  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  are  infallibly  true,  it  is  easy  to  shew 
the  wisdom  of  receiving  and  adopting  them.  Upon 
the  supposition  that  they  are  only  probably  true, 
the  task  does  not  appear  to  be  much  more  difficult. 
If  it  be  only  likely  that  there  is  such  a  Being  as  the 
Scriptures  reveal,  and  that  He  actually  sustains 
the  relations  to  man  which  they  proclaim,  it  be- 
comes manifestly  the  highest  interest  and  duty  of 
man  to  avoid  the  least  hazard  of  offending  Him,  and 
to  secure  the  utmost  certainty  of  His  kindness  and 
love. 

But  if  we  take  another  step  in  our  concessions 
to  the  unbelief  of  men,  and  confess  that  all  claims 
to  divine  authority  in  the  sayings  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
are  unfounded  ;  if  we  allow  for  a  moment  the  sup- 


374         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

position  that,  as  a  divine  revelation,  the  Gospel  is 
utterly  a  false  pretence — can  we  then  shew  that 
it  is  still  wise  in  man  to  receive  and  adopt  it,  and 
equally  foolish  in  him  to  despise  and  reject  it  ? 
This  is  my  present  purpose.  It  is  to  manifest  the 
wisdom  of  those  who  embrace  the  Gospel,  and  Jove 
it,  and  cling  to  it,  though  it  be  considered  merely 
a  system  of  man's  device.  Even  then,  should  this 
supposition  prove  at  last  to  be  true,  we  feel  satis- 
fied that  we  have  chosen  the  only  good  part,  and 
we  alone  are  building  upon  a  rock. 

No  unbeliever  can  desire  from  us  a  larger  allow- 
ance than  this  :  that  all  pretensions  in  the  Gospel 
to  be  a  revelation  from  God  are  a  falsehood.  And 
if,  even  upon  this  apparently  untenable  ground,  we 
can  shew  that  the  scheme  of  character  and  con- 
duct which  the  sayings  of  the  Lord  Jesus  mark  out 
for  man  is  the  path  of  wisdom,  and  the  only  safe 
path,  there  can  remain  no  more  opportunity  to 
bring  an  argument  against  the  cordial  and  com- 
plete acceptance  of  them,  as  the  guide  and  ruler 
of  men ;  and  men  are  shut  up  to  obey  these  sayings, 
whether  true,  or  probable,  or  false  in  their  claims 
to  a  divine  original,  or  they  are  condemned  out  of 
their  own  mouths. 

Now  then,  we  discharge  the  Bible  as  a  messen- 
ger from  God ;  and  what  is  the  substitute  proposed  ? 
Is  there  now  anything  else  before  us,  professing  to 
be  a  divine  revelation  ?  Whatever  comes  to  us 
under  this  character  must  bring  with  it  the  evi- 
dence of  attending  testimony,  and  testimony  suffi- 
cient fairly  to  convince  the  judgment  and  to  compel 
the  assent  of  those  to  whom  it  is  offered.     But  if 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK.         375 

we  acknowledge  that  the  religion  which  the  say- 
ings of  Jesus  Christ  have  taught  us,  so  manifestly 
intrinsically  worthy  as  it  is  of  God,  has  no  such 
testimony,  we  arc  left  to  stand  alone.  It  will  not 
be  pretended  that  any  other  scheme  has  that  which 
the  Gospel  wants.  Mahomedanism,  fired  with  lust 
and  steeped  in  blood,  avowedly  seeking  the  dis- 
honour of  humanity,  the  oppression  and  sacrifice  of 
the  weak  to  gratify  the  lust  of  the  strong,  slirinks 
in  the  degradation  of  conscious  un  worthiness  from 
such  a  comparison.  Paganism,  with  its  multiplied 
gods,  and  changing  shapes  of  pollution  and  dark- 
ness, is  cast  immediately  aside,  as  claiming  no  at- 
tention. Deism  is  nothing,  a  mere  denial,  making 
no  pretensions  to  divine  authority,  laughing  at  the 
idea  of  a  revelation,  having  no  creed  but  that  the 
Bible  is  false  and  the  Gospel  is  a  fable,  and  no 
system  but  unvarying  hatred  and  opposition  to 
these.  There  is  then,  nothing  before  the  mind  of 
man,  claiming  to  be  a  divine  revelation,  after  these 
sacred  Scriptures  have  been  set  aside ;  and  we 
now  stand,  of  necessity,  where  there  is  either  this 
revelation  or  none.  We  can  find  no  substitute, 
and  having  renounced  this,  we  are  left  with  none. 
But  having  discarded  the  Bible,  and  with  no  sub- 
stitute as  a  revelation  from  God,  what  system  are 
we  to  adopt  ?  what  is  our  alternative  ?  Am  I  left 
entirely  at  sea,  with  no  protector  or  guide  ?  Am  I 
the  mere  subject  of  brute  force,  to  dwell  among 
beings  who  are  only  to  be  restrained  by  actual  fear 
of  vengeance  from  me,  from  any  excesses  of  unbri- 
dled lust  or  selfish  appetite,  upon  my  person  or 
my  property  ?     Is  there  any  God  ?     No  argument 


376         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

can  prove  the  existence  of  such  a  being  when  the 
whole  light  and  machinery  of  the  Scriptures  have 
been  torn  away.  Separated  from  that,  all  that  I 
see  and  all  that  I  feel  would  lead  inevitably  to  the 
conclusion  which  has  been  actually  adopted  by 
every  nation  that  has  been  without  this  written 
revelation :  that  there  are  two  gjeat,  invisible 
agents,  one  the  origin  of  good  and  the  other  the 
origin  of  evil,  and  that  these  two  beings  are  in  per- 
petual conflict  with  each  other.  Is  there  any  fu- 
ture state  of  being  for  man  ?  Reason  tells  of  none 
that  is  lighted  with  hope  ;  conscience  tells  of  none 
that  is  not  filled  with  despair ;  and  the  only  alter- 
native to  the  Bible  is  atheism  in  reference  to  God, 
and  final  annihilation  in  death  as  the  only  prospect 
for  man.  It  is  vain  to  urge  that  every  man  has  a 
resistless  impression  upon  his  mind  that  there  is  a 
God,  and  a  future  existence  for  himself  We  ac- 
knowledge it,  certainly.  But  this  is  not  the  result 
of  the  unbeliever's  argument  or  testimony,  it  is  it- 
self a  part  of  the  rejected  revelation.  It  exists 
long  before  the  ability  to  argue  and  to  consider 
testimony  can  be  attained.  Revelation  from  God 
we  have  laid  aside,  and  we  maintain,  that  without 
it,  it  is  impossible  to  prove  the  being  of  one  God, 
or  the  future  responsibility  of  man  to  Him.  We 
are  brought,  therefore,  for  our  contemplation  of  the 
subject,  just  where  the  apostle  declares  that  men 
unreconciled  to  God  actually  stand,  "  without 
God,"atheoi,  atheists  "  in  the  world."  On  this  po- 
sition must  the  man  who  rejects  the  spiritual,  sav- 
ing power  of  the  Bible  maintain  his  ground,  or  be 
condemned  out  of  his  own  mouth.      The   Bible 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK,        377 

must  be  everything  in  reference  to  a  future  world, 
or  it  is  nothing.  If  it  be  nothing,  no  other  testi- 
mony for  futurity  is  anything ;  and  the  man  who 
rejects  the  sayings  of  this  sacred  book  from  his 
heart,  as  containing  nothing  for  him,  must  make 
good  and  certain  his  chosen  ground — that  God  is 
not,  and  eternity  is  not,  and  judgment  is  not,  and 
damnation  is  not — or  he  is  destroyed  forever. 

Here,  then,  is  our  present  position.  The  sayings 
of  Jesus,  so  far  as  they  concern  invisible  things,  are 
false ;  the  promises  of  the  Gospel  for  a  future  life 
are  all  delusive ;  all  other  hopes  or  fears  of  a  fu- 
ture state  of  responsibility  to  God  are  equally  so. 
Well,  be  it  so.  Of  course,  then,  all  the  results  of 
personal  character  in  man,  whether  good  or  evil, 
are  confined  to  the  present  life.  He  can  look  for 
no  higher  enjoyments  than  he  can  find  here.  He 
need  fear  no  more  serious  difficulties  than  he  here 
experiences.  The  only  question,  then,  for  him  to 
consider  is,  what  offered  scheme  opens  to  him  the 
fairest  provision  for  enjoyment  in  his  present  life, 
and  makes  him  the  happiest  in  his  changing  con- 
dition here  ?  And  here  we  feel  satisfied  to  show, 
that  the  man  who  embraces  the  sayings  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  in  his  heart,  believes  their  promises,  and  sub- 
mits to  their  control,  though  he  be  deluded  at  the 
last,  in  all  the  hopes  which  they  have  encouraged 
him  to  cherish,  is  the  man,  and  the  only  man,  who 
really  builds  his  house  upon  a  rock. 

We  will  adopt  these  divine  sayings,  then,  as  a 
rule  for  this  life,  not  as  a  revelation  of  a  life  to 
come ;  and  try  the  case,  simply  upon  an  examina- 
tion of  their  tendency  and  operation,  even  within 


378         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

these  limits.  And  we  ask,  are  they  not  calculated 
to  give  to  those  who  receive  them  higher  advan- 
tages for  gaining  all  that  man  desires  in  life,  besides 
many  precious  blessings  entirely  peculiar  to  them- 
selves ? 

If  man  seeks  the  possession  of  wealth,  who  is 
more  likely  to  secure  it  than  he  who  has  made  the 
Bible  the  lamp  to  his  feet  ?  Can  there  be  any 
rules  for  human  prosperity,  except  those  which  are 
the  invention  of  violence  and  fraud,  that  are  not 
perfectly  laid  down  there  ?  Do  not  these  sayings  of 
God  render  man  prudent  and  cautious  in  the  man- 
agement of  his  concerns,  and  save  him  from  all 
those  difficulties  which  an  ungoverned  impetuosity 
of  temper,  or  a  mind  bewildered  and  brutalized  by 
vice,  inevitably  oppose  to  profligate  and  sensual 
men  ?  Do  they  not  excite  him  to  diligence  and 
assiduity  in  the  fulfilment  of  all  that  his  hand  finds 
to  do  ?  Do  they  not  impress  upon  him  that  idle- 
ness is  sin,  and  that  for  all  his  opportunities  and 
time  he  must  give  an  account  to  God  ?  By  cut- 
ting off  the  thousand  nameless  indulgences  of  sin, 
do  they  not  rescue  him  from  that  bondage  to  unholy 
appetite,  which  enslaves  the  time  and  thoughts 
of  the  ungodly  ?  Do  they  not  inculcate  the  spirit 
and  habit  of  frugality  in  the  use  of  that  which 
is  gotten  ?  They  retrench  the  unceasing  calls  for 
extravagant  expense,  which  free  indulgence  of 
sensual  appetites  and  corrupted  passions  demand. 
By  their  rules  modesty  clothes  without  immodera- 
tion, temperance  feeds  without  licentiousness,  con- 
tentment dwells  without  ambition,  and  that  whole 
outlay  of  vicious  indulgence  which,  like  a  quick- 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK.         379 

sand,  so  completely  swallows  up  the  character  and 
the  wealth  of  man,  is  immediately  stayed.  Do  not 
these  sayings  require  kindness  and  courtesy  to- 
wards all,  securing  thus  the  assistance  and  the  fa- 
vourable regard  of  those  wiio  may  be  helpful  in  the 
acquisition  of  wealth  ?  Open  ungodliness  may 
serve  an  occasional  turn,  guilt  may  sometimes  be- 
come successful,  violence  and  wrong  may  wear  a 
transitory  crown — but  surely  the  whole  history  of 
man  will  shew,  that  no  man  is  so  certain,  even 
upon  the  ground  of  mutual  interest,  to  obtain  friends 
in  life,  as  the  man  who  may  be  always  depended 
upon  by  others  with  entire  confidence,  for  probity, 
kindness,  and  truth.  And  if  the  increase  of  riches 
be  established  as  the  great  object  of  life,  man  can 
devise  no  better  system  by  which  it  may  be  at- 
tained, than  the  sayings  of  this  divine  word  have 
freely  laid  down  before  him ;  and,  in  similar  cir- 
cumstances of  life,  the  believer  of  the  Bible  and  the 
subject  of  its  commands  is  always  more  likely  to 
be  prosperous  and  rich  than  the  man  who  rejects 
them. 

If  man  seeks  the  influence  and  authority  of  hon- 
our and  reputation  among  his  fellow-men,  w^ho  has 
a  better  system  for  the  attainment  of  this  end,  than 
he  whose  director  is  the  word  of  God  1  Such  a 
man  possesses  in  himself  a  worth  and  excellence 
which  is  the  foundation  of  just  esteem.  He  is  to 
others  useful,  benevolent,  and  profitable,  in  a  way 
that  necessarily  produces  confidence  and  respect. 
Certainly,  no  man  is  ever  the  more  honoured  mere- 
ly for  the  sinfulness  of  his  conduct,  or  for  his  pro- 
fligate contempt  of  God  and  man.     Nay,  no  man  is 


380         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK.   , 

ever  permanently  esteemed,  but  for  his  supposed 
excellence  of  personal  character,  whether  it  be 
pretended  or  real.  The  old  age  of  vice  is  always 
loathsome  and  hateful,  while  the  hoary  head  in  the 
way  of  righteousness  is  ever  a  crown  of  glory. 
The  course  of  outward  conduct  which  the  Gospel 
requires,  includes  whatsoever  is  pure,  lovely,  and 
of  good  report,  and  consists  in  the  conscientious 
and  unremitted  discharge  of  every  duty,  and  in 
the  cultivation  and  exercise  of  every  temper,  cal- 
culated to  promote  the  present  happiness  of  man- 
kind. The  most  depraved  of  men  would  gladly 
have  the  reputation  for  that  virtue,  the  practice  of 
which  their  base  appetites  forbid.  There  is  no 
opposing  habit  of  vice  which  is  not  found  to  be 
degrading  and  destructive  to  the  reputation  of  man. 
Indiscretion  and  infirmity  may  often  stain  the  name, 
and  bring  dishonour  upon  the  reputation  of  a  re- 
ligious man.  But  the  blot  is  simply  for  his  want 
of  entire  conformity  to  the  actual  standard  of  his 
profession,  and  in  the  proportion  of  this  very  want 
of  conformity  is  the  stain  upon  his  character.  The 
whole  experience  of  man  will  shew,  that  when  all 
the  glories  of  another  world  are  set  aside,  nothing 
shines  so  brightly  here,  or  is  so  really  esteemed 
among  men,  as  the  sincere  cultivation  of  a  truly 
virtuous  and  religious  character.  It  is  said  of  Da- 
vid, who,  save  in  one  sad  transgression,  laboured 
to  live  as  a  man  after  God's  own  heart — that  is,  in 
entire  obedience  to  his  commands — that  he  "  died, 
full  of  days,  riches,  and  honour ;"  and  it  required 
no  heaven  to  make  him  in  all  respects  a  more  hon- 
ourable and  a  happier  man  than  Saul.     No  man 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK.        381 

before  me  can  doubt  between  the  characters  of 
Judas  and  St.  Paul,  of  Paine  and  Howard,  of  Vol- 
taire and  Fcnelon,  of  Washington  and  Aaron  Burr, 
whose  character  is  the  most  honourable,  and  w  hose 
reputation  is  the  most  to  be  desired — and  who, 
therefore,  if  this  be  the  great  object  for  man,  has 
been  the  wiser  man — even  though  they  have  all 
died  as  the  brutes  which  perish,  with  the  certainty 
that  there  is  no  other  life  beyond  the  present. 
And  if  personal  honour  among  men  be  the  chosen 
object  of  human  life,  the  sayings  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures  are  found,  not  only  by  a  reasonable  ex- 
pectation from  their  character,  but  by  an  actual 
experience  of  their  operation  and  influence,  to  open 
the  surest  path  to  this  desired  result. 

If  man  desires  his  present  enjoyment  and  grati- 
fication, and  makes  the  pursuit  of  temporary,  pass- 
ing pleasure  the  main  end  of  his  life,  even  upon 
this  road,  where  will  he  find  a  better  guide  than 
the  Bible  offers  ?  It  ministers  most  important  ad- 
vantages to  the  enjoyment  of  present  health,  the 
very  foundation  of  all  temporal  enjoyment  for  man. 
By  requiring  the  habitual  cultivation  of  temperance, 
soberness,  and  chastity,  by  prohibiting  all  excess 
in  the  indulgence  of  appetite,  and  all  slothfulness 
in  the  fulfilment  of  labour,  it  brings  man  through 
the  vigour  of  healthful  youth  and  manhood,  to  a 
calm,  and  happy,  and  satisfying  age.  The  serenity 
of  spirit  which  it  bestows,  the  moderation  of  desire 
which  it  produces,  tend,  as  much  as  any  bodily  re- 
gimen, to  preserve  that  perfect  character  of  health, 
a  sound  mind  in  a  sound  body.  It  increases  the 
enjoyment  which  man  derives  from  his  present 


382         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

sources  of  delight,  and  adds  a  charm  to  every  in- 
strument and  means  of  human  happiness.  To  no 
one  is  food  so  palatable,  or  recreation  so  refreshing, 
or  sleep  so  sweet,  or  society  so  agreeable,  as  to  him 
who  follows  out  the  regular  and  determined  mod- 
eration which  the  Scriptures  enjoin.  He  has  a 
cheerfulness  of  spirit  which  sets  off  every  gratifi- 
cation, and  enhances  every  proper  indulgence. 
There  is  no  cure  for  the  melancholy  of  the  heart, 
no  remedy  for  the  gloominess  of  the  mind,  like  the 
faith  which  he  has  embraced,  and  under  the  influ- 
ence of  which  he  lives.  And  his  w  hole  experience 
brings  out  the  truth  of  that  testimony  of  Solomon 
to  the  cheerfulness  which  true  piety  produces — 
"  Wisdom  maketh  a  man's  face  to  shine."  Then, 
further,  these  sayings  of  the  Scripture  remove  all 
those  innumerable  disquietudes  which  occur  to 
embitter  the  pleasures  of  human  life.  They  allow 
not  the  fear  of  losing  present  enjoyments,  or  the 
desire  to  obtain  greater  ones,  to  occupy  and 
harass  the  mind.  They  inculcate  and  impart  that 
conformity  of  man's  will  to  the  will  of  God,  that 
submission  of  his  plans  to  Him,  that  satisfaction 
with  His  appointments,  which  remove  the  spirit  of 
envy  and  disappointment  from  his  breast,  and  de- 
prive every  real  trial  of  much  of  its  power  to  dis- 
tress or  injure.  Though  friends  forsake,  though 
sickness  or  pain  may  visit,  though  poverty  may 
grasp,  the  man  w^hose  heart  has  yielded  to  the 
principles  which  the  Scriptures  propose,  these 
principles  enable  him,  not  only  in  theory,  but  in 
fact,  to  rise  above  the  reach  of  those  anxieties 
which  destroy  the  peace  of  wicked  and  unbeliev- 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK.         3g3 

ing  men.  It  is  not  that  he  does  not  feel  as  other 
men  feel,  that  he  is  destitute  of  sensibility  to  grief — 
nay,  the  moral  system  by  which  he  is  governed 
increases  the  sensitiveness  of  his  spirit  in  a  very 
high  degree,  and  makes  him,  not  only  more  deli- 
cately cautious  of  offending  others,  but  more  del- 
icately sensible  of  neglect  or  reproach  himself, — 
but  he  has  an  impression  and  a  conviction  in  his 
mind,  of  a  superior  protection,  a  divine  watchful- 
ness, which,  like  the  imaginarypower  of  the  alche- 
mist, turns  everything  to  gold.  But  more  than  this, 
than  all  this,  the  sayings  of  Jesus  have  rescued  him 
from  that  most  dreadful  of  all  distress,  the  pangs 
of  a  guilty  and  unappeased  conscience.  This  is 
the  great  monster  of  destruction  to  the  pleasures 
of  man.  No  prosperity  in  the  sinner's  affairs,  no 
pomp  in  his  station,  no  costliness  or  variety  in  his 
pleasures,  can  shelter  him  from  the  power  of  this 
awakened,  avenging  agent.  How  sad  a  heart  is 
often  covered  by  a  fair  and  smiling  exterior  !  What 
sleepless  vigils  does  conscious  guilt  often  compel  a 
man  to  keep,  when  no  human  eye  has  seen  the  ful- 
ness of  his  transgression  !  In  distresses  like  these, 
the  Scriptures  interpose  a  balm  of  peace  and  com- 
fort, and  calm  this  troubled  sea,  and  lay  a  sure 
foundation  for  confidence  and  joy.  And  in  this 
mere  negative  view,  by  removing  disquietudes  and 
sorrows  that  nothing  else  can  remove,  they  vastly 
promote  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  mankind. 

But  how  very  limited  and  partialis  this  view  of 
personal  enjoyment  for  man  !  The  sayings  of  God 
not  only  remove  harassing  fears  from  the  common 
pleasures  of  life,  they  add,  also,  peculiar  delights 


384  THE   GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK 

of  their  own  ;  pleasures  which  none  but  they  who 
embrace  and  follow^  them  can  enjoy.  The  Christ- 
ian, believing  their  record,  delusive  as  we  now 
consider  it,  becomes  daily  more  acquainted  with 
the  character  of  God,  and  reposes  more  entirely 
upon  Him.  He  feels  the  divine  nature  daily  more 
formed  and  displayed  in  his  own  soul,  in  all  the 
peaceful  fruits  of  watchful  and  happy  obedience  to 
God.  He  enjoys  not  the  pleasures  of  a  man  only, 
but  the  pleasures  of  an  angel,  w  hile  his  spirit  re- 
joices in  the  views  w  hich  he  receives  of  the  good- 
ness of  his  God.  He  finds,  as  the  result  of  his  own 
experiment,  far  more  delight  in  one  hour's  enjoy- 
ment of  peace  with  God,  than  all  the  sins  of  pre- 
vious life  have  been  able  to  afford  him.  One  day 
spent  in  the  courts  of  the  Lord  is  better  than  a 
thousand  passed- in  the  tents  of  ungodliness.  The 
Bible  gives  him  a  hope  which  lights  up  unceasing 
joy  in  his  soul.  The  consciousness  that  from  an 
enemy  he  has  become  a  friend  of  God ;  that  he  is 
pardoned,  accepted,  and  beloved  for  Christ's  sake  ; 
that  poor  and  guilty  as  he  was,  angels  have  rejoiced 
over  him,  and  the  glorious  God  delights  in  him; 
the  assured  hope  that  he  shall  be  received  by  Him, 
to  be  a  partaker  of  His  glory,  to  be  acquainted  with 
His  counsels,  to  be  known  by  and  to  know,  in  the 
light  of  His  presence,  angels  and  just  men  made 
perfect ;  that  he  shall  spend  a  glorious  eternity  in 
praising  Him  for  His  goodness,  in  singing  the  tri- 
umphs of  the  death  of  Jesus  in  his  behalf;  commu- 
nicates now,  delusive  as  w^e  suppose  it,  a  delight 
which  nothing  on  the  earth  can  equal.  All  this 
may  be  delusion,  but  it  is  an  actual  experience  and 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK.         385 

enjoyment  in  fact.  It  is  an  enjoyment  which  no 
created  power  can  prohibit,  and  from  which  no 
earthly  means  can  separate  him,  and  which  no  tem- 
poral difficulties  can  diminish  or  obstruct.  And 
should  the  Bible  prove  to  be  a  total  falsehood,  and 
all  his  confidence  be  found  to  be  vanity,  should  he 
close  his  eyes  in  death,  in  a  final  annihilation,  he 
cannot  be  deprived  of  the  actual  pleasure  of  this 
hope.  He  has  lost  nothing  which  others  have 
gained  ;  he  has  found,  in  accepting  and  following 
the  sayings  of  Jesus,  a  joy  which  none  have  ever 
found  in  despising  them.  He  dies  with  a  sweet 
delusion,  a  joyful,  rapturous  expectation,  which 
gives  him  present,  real,  unspeakable  delight,  and 
the  falsehood  of  which,  if  it  be  a  falsehood,  he  will 
have  no  opportunity  to  discover.  If  the  sayings 
of  Jesus  shall  prove  true,  all  that  he  can  want  he 
has.  If  these  sayings  shall  prove  false  entirely,  he 
sinks,  like  the  infidel,  into  a  hopeless  annihilation. 
But  he  has  passed  a  hopeful,  happy  day,  and  he 
sinks  through  a  calm  and  sweet  repose,  like  the 
setting  of  the  summer's  sun ;  delivered  from  the 
despair  of  conscious  guilt,  and  the  overwhelming 
conviction  of  any  possible  result  of  evil  to  ensue. 
If,  then,  all  the  claims  of  the  Bible  to  divine  au- 
thority are  absolutely  false,  still  he  only  is  the  wise 
man,  and  he  only  is  building  his  house  upon  the 
rock,  who  embraces  it,  and  yields  to  it  as  his  com- 
fort and  guide.  Taking  the  sayings  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  merely  as  a  rule,  not  as  a  revelation,  the  be- 
liever in  their  perfect  and  entire  truth  as  a  revela- 
tion may  look  back  with  thankfulness  to  the  error 
which  led  him  to  receive  them,  and  to  trust  to  them 


386         THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK. 

as  such,  as  having  bestowed  upon  him  a  pleasure, 
and  furnished  him  with  advantages,  in  believing 
and  practising  them,  which  were  in  no  other  quar- 
ter proffered  for  his  enjoyment;  and  if  they  be 
false  in  all  their  claims,  and  false  in  all  their  prom- 
ises, he  still  is  the  only  wise,  secure,  or  happy  man. 

But  NO !  thou  precious,  though  despised,  insulted, 
and  rejected  book,  thou  art  not  false  !  Thou  more 
despised  and  insulted  God,  thou  art  not  a  liar !  Thou 
injured  and  rejected  Jesus,  thou  art  no  impostor  ! 
Thou  grieved  and  forbearing  Spirit,  thy  work  is 
no  delusion !  We  take  back  our  Bible,  as  the 
grand  message  from  God  to  man.  It  is  our  rock, 
we  build  our  all  upon  it.  It  is  our  sun,  we  live  in 
its  light  and  follow  in  its  guidance.  It  is  our  spring 
of  life  eternal,  we  drink  from  its  waters  and  are 
refreshed  forever.  It  speaks  to  the  believer  the 
language  of  comfort,  but  it  speaks  no  language  but 
truth.  It  has  guided  countless  millions  to  a  glo- 
rious eternity ;  it  has  fed  them  on  their  journey 
with  heavenly  manna ;  it  has  opened  to  them,  at 
the  close  of  their  pilgrimage",  everlasting  enjoy- 
ments ;  it  has  been  the  seed  of  undying  life,  in 
many  souls  who  are  now  before  me  ;  it  has  put 
into  their  mouth  new  songs  of  praise,  for  love  which 
passeth  knowledge ;  it  will  keep  them  in  the  pos- 
session of  that  love  by  the  power  of  God  forever. 

It  offers  all  its  bounties,  it  addresses  all  its  prom- 
ises, it  utters  all  its  admonitions,  to  every  soul  that 
listens  to  its  words.  Come,  taste  of  its  joys,  em- 
brace its  promises,  lay  hold  of  its  hopes,  yield  to 
its  commands.  Rise,  my  friends,  rise  from  the 
bondage  of  voluntary  sin  to  the  liberty  of  bound- 


THE  GOSPEL  THE  ONLY  ROCK,         387 

less,  eternal  grace  ;  from  the  humiliation  of  spirit- 
ual death,  the  slavery  of  earth,  to  a  new  and  spir- 
itual life,  the  honour  and  the  happiness  of  heaven. 
O  lift  up  your  eyes,  sinful  hearers  of  the  word. 
See  what  a  bountiful  God, — a  dying,  ascended  God, 
has  provided  for  your  souls.  Lay  hold  of  the  hope 
which  is  offered;  accept  the  treasure  which  is  pro- 
posed. Make  this  blessed  book  your  guide  to 
Christ,  and  your  director  in  the  path  of  eternal 
peace,  and  though  storms  may  rise,  and  winds  may 
blow,  your  house  is  founded  upon  a  rock.  Shel- 
tered for  eternity  from  every  ill  and  every  sorrow, 
you  will  adore  that  redeeming  God  who  gave  you 
the  Bible,  and  whom  the  Bible  so  clearly  makes 
known. 


aoaiiaiiiiiia 


